The Twelve-Mile Straight — Eleanor Henderson

From New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Henderson: an audacious American epic set in rural Georgia during the years of the Depression and prohibition.

Cotton County, Georgia, 1930: in a house full of secrets, two babies -- one light-skinned, the other dark -- are born to Elma Jesup, a farmer's daughter. Accused of rape, field hand Genus Jackson is lynched and dragged through the street behind a truck. In the aftermath, the farm's inhabitants, along with the people of the nearby town, are forced to contend with their roles and complicity in a series of events that left a man dead and a family irrevocably fractured.

Despite the prying eyes and curious whispers of the townspeople, Elma begins to raise her babies as best as she can, under the roof of her mercurial father and with the help of Nan, the young black housekeeper who Elma is as close to as a sister. But soon it becomes clear that the ties that bind all of them together are more intricate than any could have ever imagined. As startling revelations mount, a web of lies begins to collapse around the family, destabilizing their precarious world and forcing all to reckon with the painful truth.

Acclaimed author Eleanor Henderson has returned with a novel that combines the intimacy of a family drama with the staggering presence of a great Southern saga. Tackling themes of racialized violence, social division, and financial crisis, THE TWELVE-MILE STRAIGHT is startlingly timely, emotionally resonant, and a magnificent tour-de-force.