The Cherokee Rose

Three women uncover the secrets of a Georgia plantation that embodies the intertwined histories of Indigenous and enslaved Black communities—the fascinating debut novel, inspired by a true story, of the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of All That She Carried, now featuring a new introduction and discussion guide. “The Cherokee Rose is a mic drop—an instant classic. An invitation to listen to the urgent, sweet choruses of past and present.”—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST Conducting research for her weekly history column, Jinx, a free-spirited Muscogee (Creek) historian, travels to Hold House, a Georgia plantation originally owned by Cherokee chief James Hold, to uncover the mystery of what happened to a tribal member who stayed behind after Indian removal, when Native Americans were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homelands in the nineteenth century. At Hold House, she meets Ruth, a magazine writer visiting on assignment, and Cheyenne, a Southern Black debutante seeking to purchase the estate. Hovering above them all is the spirit of Mary Ann Battis, the young Indigenous woman who remained in Georgia more than a century earlier. When they discover a diary left on the property that reveals even more about the house’s dark history, the three women’s connections to the place grow deeper. Over a long holiday weekend, Cheyenne is forced to reconsider the property’s rightful ownership, Jinx reexamines assumptions about her tribe’s racial history, and Ruth confronts her own family’s past traumas before surprising herself by falling into a new romance. Imbued with a nuanced understanding of history, The Cherokee Rose brings the past to life as Jinx, Ruth, and Cheyenne unravel mysteries with powerful consequences for them all.

Originally published: Sisters, Or.: Multnomah Publishers, c2006.

Three women uncover the secrets of a Georgia plantation that embodies the intertwined histories of Indigenous and enslaved Black communities—the fascinating debut novel, inspired by a true story, of the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of All That She Carried, now featuring a new introduction and discussion guide. “The Cherokee Rose is a mic drop—an instant classic. An invitation to listen to the urgent, sweet choruses of past and present.”—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST Conducting research for her weekly history column, Jinx, a free-spirited Muscogee (Creek) historian, travels to Hold House, a Georgia plantation originally owned by Cherokee chief James Hold, to uncover the mystery of what happened to a tribal member who stayed behind after Indian removal, when Native Americans were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homelands in the nineteenth century. At Hold House, she meets Ruth, a magazine writer visiting on assignment, and Cheyenne, a Southern Black debutante seeking to purchase the estate. Hovering above them all is the spirit of Mary Ann Battis, the young Indigenous woman who remained in Georgia more than a century earlier. When they discover a diary left on the property that reveals even more about the house’s dark history, the three women’s connections to the place grow deeper. Over a long holiday weekend, Cheyenne is forced to reconsider the property’s rightful ownership, Jinx reexamines assumptions about her tribe’s racial history, and Ruth confronts her own family’s past traumas before surprising herself by falling into a new romance. Imbued with a nuanced understanding of history, The Cherokee Rose brings the past to life as Jinx, Ruth, and Cheyenne unravel mysteries with powerful consequences for them all.

The Cherokees' saga of oppression and genocide blends history, Moravian diaries and family legends into a fascinating tale. A personal story of the lives, loves and battles of a famous family, betrayed by militia, governors and presidents.

The Brutal Road West It’s late summer 1838. President Martin Van Buren issues an order that the fifteen thousand Cherokee Indians living in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina are to be evicted from their homeland. Forced to migrate to Indian Territory, the Cherokees begin their tragic, one-thousand-mile journey westward. Most of the seven thousand soldiers escorting them along the way are brutally cruel. But Cherokee Rose, an eighteen-year-old Indian girl, finds one soldier, Lieutenant Britt Claiborne, willing to stand up for them. Both Christians, Cherokee Rose discovers that Britt is also a quarter Cherokee himself. It’s upon the Trail of Tears that they fall in love, dreaming of one day marrying and finding a place to call home together. They found each other in the midst of tragedy… But is their love enough to keep them together? Cherokee Rose has endured more than any eighteen-year-old girl should. Though accepted by her tribe, being both mixed blood and a Christian set her apart. Then fifteen thousand Cherokee Indians are evicted from their homes in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Broken and angry, Cherokee Rose joins her people on the thousand-mile trek westward to Indian Territory. The journey holds many trials—not the least of which is the cruelty of the soldiers escorting them. But Cherokee Rose is determined: these men will not break her. Lieutenant Britt Claiborne is devoted to serving his country, but he detests the way his fellow soldiers treat the Indians. He not only refuses to join in, but does all he can to stop the abuse. To the soldiers, he is a traitor. To those he helps, a champion. But Britt knows he’s only doing what he must, not just because he’s a Christian, but for a reason he’s reluctant to reveal. Thrown together in the face of brutality, these two find themselves falling in love. They dream of marrying and finding a place to call home. But can their love survive the Trail of Tears? “Cherokee Rose is a good story and a great way to learn about a historical event we would rather sweep under the rug.” --Lauraine Snelling, bestselling author of Amethyst Story Behind the Book Long captivated with the study of American history, Al and JoAnna Lacy eagerly researched the time in the 1800s when the five “civilized tribes” were forced by the U.S. government to make a one-thousand-mile journey to Indian Territory (now the state of Oklahoma). The tribes were the Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek, and the Seminole. Repeatedly forced to surrender their lands, the people of the Cherokee Nation, as well as those of the other four tribes, were hoping to find in Indian Territory a place to call home .

Tommy Jo Burns knew she was destined for greatness. Raised on an Oklahoma ranch where her father taught her to rope and ride, at fourteen she so impressed President Teddy Roosevelt that he dubbed her America's first cowgirl. Filled with dreams of joining a Wild West show, she left her parents to create her own family of friends on the road with Colonel Zack Miller's 101 Ranch Show. It was a new and exciting life, so she took a new name: Cherokee Rose. Cherokee Rose's adventures brought many different men into her life. She could rope with the best of them, and she tangled with a few: the awkward ranch hand, Bill Rogers, who emerged on the show circuit as famed entertainer Will Rogers; a handsome husband who resented her fame; a wealthy gambler who broke her heart. Filled with the excitement of the unconventional, Cherokee Rose captures the essence of women cowgirls and nineteenth-century Wild West shows. Cherokee Rose was inspired by the life of America’s real first cowgirl, Lucille Mulhall, and named after the flower that grows wild on the prairies of the Southwest.

Carol Reyerson war schon immer diejenige in ihrer Familie, die angepackt und den Karren aus dem Dreck gezogen hatte. Nach dem Tod ihres Vaters spitzt sich die Situation derartig zu, dass sie beschließt, aus der Stadt zu ziehen und auf dem Land von vorn anzufangen. Allerdings hat sie noch nie allein, noch dazu in der Wildnis, gelebt und sieht sich fortan nicht nur mit ihren Ängsten, sondern auch mit dem unnahbaren, aber äußerst faszinierenden Nachbarn Darren konfrontiert. Der ehemalige Ranger Darren Drake ist Menschen gegenüber im Allgemeinen und Staatsbediensteten im Besonderen äußerst misstrauisch. Dafür hat er gute Gründe. Das Betreten seines Grundstücks empfindet er als Eindringen in seine Privatsphäre und er bevorzugt die Einsamkeit der Wälder. Als seine neue Nachbarin mit ihren Plänen sein Leben mächtig durcheinanderbringt, bricht eine innere, verdrängte Sehnsucht wieder auf. Und je näher Carol und Darren sich kommen, desto riskanter wird ihre Lage – bis sie sogar in Lebensgefahr geraten.

As a daughter of missionary parents in 1847, Elizabeth MacKenzie grows up in fear of the Cherokee. As a full-blooded Cherokee, Elias Chote keeps alive the tradition of his people, though he was schooled by white man's laws. But love at first sight is stronger than the laws of any people. From the author of Prairie Dreams.