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Back Bay Books

Trials of the Earth

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Description

The astonishing first-person account of Mississippi pioneer woman struggling to survive, protect her family, and make a home in the early American South. Near the end of her life, Mary Mann Hamilton (1866 - c.1936) began recording her experiences in the backwoods of the Mississippi Delta. The result is this astonishing first-person account of a pioneer woman who braved grueling work, profound tragedy, and a pitiless wilderness (she and her family faced floods, tornadoes, fires, bears, panthers, and snakes) to protect her home in the early American South. An early draft of Trials of the Earth was submitted to a writers' competition sponsored by Little, Brown in 1933. It didn't win, and we almost lost the chance to bring this raw, vivid narrative to readers. Eighty- three years later, in partnership with Mary Mann Hamilton's descendants, we're proud to share this irreplaceable piece of American history. Written in spare, rich prose, Trials of the Earth is a precious record of one woman's extraordinary endurance and courage that will resonate with readers of history and fiction alike. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Back Bay Books


Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 3, 2017


Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 337 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316341371


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 70


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.85 x 8.25 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #285,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1,481 in Women's Biographies #2,721 in U.S. State & Local History #5,795 in Memoirs (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A riveting a account of a woman and her family settling Mississippi
Format: Kindle
This read starts out ordinary, but quickly becomes a riveting account of a woman and her husband in the unsettled wilds of Mississippi. She goes through floods, child birth, child loss, multiple homes, little money, and heartbreaking loss, but keeps her family together. It is difficult to set the stage properly for this true story. Read it and you will be transported to a world that we have no idea existed. She was an amazing woman and raised a family in spite of flood, fire, draught, and child loss. One of her sons lived to be Governor of Mississippi. She lived until the mid 1930's and dictated her story at the urging of her friend. It was brought to print by the intervention of Morgan Freeman. It is a story that will live with you for years, in a good way. I read it twice, ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020 by Rosehill Ann
    • Interesting account of life in a different time
Format: Kindle
I enjoyed the story and the truth of the struggles. I appreciated the hardships everyone faced and the secrets kept. Enjoyable fast read
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2017 by Angie Dawn
    • Authentic, Awesome Book
Format: Kindle
This is a compelling book, hard to put down. It's the autobiography of someone who helped clear the Mississippi Delta when it was a hot, wet, tangled wilderness. The life events she faced would be overwhelming to most of us today, but she tells her amazing story as though everything happened merely in the normal course of an average lifetime--no complaints, no bragging. The words she uses were normal for her time and include words that modern sensibilities would find offensive. If you realize that her words are authentic for the times, you keep reading to the end; and you get to know an awesome character who never cracked under pressure and always dealt fairly with anyone she encountered. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2019 by Sarah Strohm
    • A book that can learn you a lot about every day life on a homestead.
I think the book is very pleasant to read. It pictures the life of Mary Mann Hamilton in a very clear way. Her hardships and happy moments. You get an idea how a household of a family 150 years ago worked. All written from this brave woman's perspective. The family lives in the Mississippi delta most of the time. First as part of the loggers industry, later having their own homestead. They worked very hard. I read the book because I am looking for real live novels about homesteading. I wanted to learn something for our own homestead. and what can you better do then reading novels about the past days. Learning about how people would solve things back in the days. This book fulfilled all my expectations. I will surely recommend this book. A must read when you have a homestead. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2018 by Terra do Milho homestead
    • Remarkable first hand account of a life of toilet and quiet heroism
Format: Kindle
This is the first hand account of a pioneering woman who lived in the untamed Mississippi Delta during the years of its early development. She married an Englishman with a mysterious background, the story of which he took to the grave. This book tells of the trials, some of them very terrible, endured during their married life as the author, Mary Hamilton, made a home for her family under often trying and sometimes tragic circumstances. Mother of nine, five of whom survived to adulthood, Mary would sadly never have a home that was truly her own, although this was her fondest dream. Instead, she did her very best to make comfortable and happy whatever temporary abode that her family occupied. As a young wife, she ran boarding houses, cooking for dozens of men daily while raising her little children. Later, she kept house for her growing family while working long days in the fields. The amount of work that she performed day in and day out was truly stupendous, but she considered it vital that she be cheerful and uncomplaining for the sake of her children. They all learned at an early age to work alongside their mother, considering helping her something of which they could be very proud. Their hard-working father was often away from home, leaving, of necessity, his wife alone in a wild country to cope with wolves, destructive storms, primitive living conditions, births and deaths. Mary's indomitable spirit prevailed over circumstances that would have brought paralyzing despair to a lesser woman as she lost child after child, nursed a husband who was often ill during the early years of their marriage, endured poverty, and always, was forced into backbreaking work simply to provide the basic necessities for her family. This unassuming woman's account of everyday life in a wilderness is remarkable in its rich details, colorful cast of characters, and I lessons for modern life, among them: No more whining!!!! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019 by bam
    • Good history lesson; not a page turner though
Format: Hardcover
An excellent look at pioneering. Like the TRUE stories of Little House on the Prairie. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. It reads almost like fiction when you account for the numerous trials this family faced. Also, it is almost unfathomable the grit and hard work required to make a living during this time. I'm glad I read the book for that reason. However, I must say it was somewhat of a chore to read. It took me a while to really get into the characters, but I eventually did. I cried when there were deaths. Frank probably had the most dimension of any of the characters. I never quite knew what he was going to do next. I didn't trust him but did trust him at the same time. I'm sure that's how Mary felt too. For most of the book it was an endless cycle of move the family, suffer tragedy, move the family, suffer tragedy, and on and on. Also, I did not care for the titles of the chapters as they gave away what was going to happen in that chapter. The ending was really good and made up for some of the tedious middle of the book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2017 by FourBoyMom
    • Riveting
Format: Kindle
A riveting account of daily, hard-scrabble life on the frontier told by a remarkably strong and intelligent woman who thought nothing of cooking all meals for 80 mill workers and sewing all the clothes for her family, a woman who "had it all," whether she wanted it or not.
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016 by SAMO

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