In Old Kentucky

On Nebo Mountain, a young woman sings while riding an ox, carefree and hungry for something more. This is Madge Brierly, and in the Kentucky hills of 1910, her thirst for learning is both radical and dangerous. The mountains that have cradled her family for generations now feel like a cage, especially as an old feud shadows her name and modernity creeps closer with every railroad whistle. When she meets Joe Lorey, a local boy whose heart belongs to her, Madge must choose between the life she's been handed and the education she's determined to claim. Edward Marshall's novel pulses with the collision of old Kentucky and the new century. It's a story of one woman's rebellion against familial legacy and small-town expectations, the bluegrass and the mountains standing as both sanctuary and prison. For anyone who has ever wanted to run from the life they were born into, Madge's journey remains fiercely relevant.