Scarlet Sister Mary

Set on a South Carolina plantation among the Gullah community, this novel follows Mary, a spirited young woman whose husband abandons her soon after their marriage. Rather than break under the loss, she raises a large family on her own terms, taking lovers, working the land, and living by her own sense of freedom until age and hardship draw her back toward the church that once cast her out. Julia Peterkin wrote with unusual sympathy and detail about Gullah life, its speech, customs, and faith, at a time when few white authors did. Published in 1928, the book won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel the following year. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.