A Stranger in the Kingdom: A Novel - Softcover

Mosher, Howard Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0618240101 ISBN 13: 9780618240104

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2002

Synopsis

Howard Frank Mosher has earned both critical acclaim and a wide readership for his vivid historical portraits of northern New England residents in his fictional Kingdom County, Vermont. A Stranger in the Kingdom tells the unforgettable story of a brutal murder in a small town and the devastating events that follow. The town’s new preacher, a black man, finds himself on trial more for who he is than for what he might have done in this powerful drama of passion, prejudice, and innocence suddenly lost . . . and perhaps found again.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Reminiscent of to Kill a Mockingbird and Anatomy of a Murder--Absorbing."
-- The New York Times

"A great book for our time and all time, for the north county and for all the country."
-- Ernest Hebert

"Magnificent--compelling--a dark drama--told with such dexterity--shot through with such light and humor, with such marvelous assemblage of major and minor figures--and such intimate understanding of community mores and history, that there is no danger of this being a one-season best seller."
-- The Vermont Sunday Magazine

"Like a big easy chair, a book to sink into-- The actual plot, with its familiar elements of race sex, murder and long-held grudges, is compelling enough. But the real mystery lie, as it should, in motivation-what makes people do what they do? What pain, what secrets, can and cannot be held in the human heart?"
-- The New York Times Book Review

"Mosher's writing is lovingly forged, understated and laden with images which surprise and haunt."
-- The Boston Herald

"Fine prose, fascinating people and a heck of a story"
-- Vance Bourjaily

"Exciting and memorable-- Howard Frank Mosher has made a small-town story into a universal one. He has filled it with memorable people and carried it along on a rolling wave suspense. And, best of all. He has not lost the small town in all action. It is rich with local lore and local character."
-- Wallace Stegner, author id Angle of Repose and The Spectator Bird

From the Inside Flap:

t the only crime this town would never forget.
Kingdom County, Vermont, is tucked between the Green Mountains and the White Mountains not far from the Canadian border- a small town of proud people with ling memories.  When the preacher, Walt Andrews, came to town, he was an outsider, a stranger.  He was also a black man.

It was the summer James Kinneson turned thirteen.  Son of the newspaper owner and younger brother of the town's fiery defense lawyer, James witnessed the shattering events that would tear the town apart - a brutal murder and the trial of a man, not so much for what he might have done, but for what he was.  A Stranger in the Kingdom  is a powerful drama of passion, prejudice, and innocence suddenly lost--and perhaps found again.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0618240101
• ISBN 13: 9780618240104
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432