Happy Land - by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A woman learns the astonishing truth of her family's ties to a real-life American kingdom in this transporting and riveting new novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Award-winning author of Take My Hand. In the hills of Appalachia, there once existed a land ruled by a king and a queen. Inspired by distant memories of African kingdoms, a community of formerly enslaved men and women grasped freedom and started lives on mountain land that they owned. They worked hard, lived well, and loved there. For a time the kingdom thrived...and then it disappeared. Present Day. Nikki hasn't seen her grandmother in years, due to a mysterious estrangement inherited from her mother. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, she's determined to get answers while she still can. But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki a shocking story about her great-great-great-grandmother Queen Luella and the very land they are standing on. Land that Mother Rita says must be protected. The more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she finds in the woods-who are buried beneath stone grave markers-the more she understands that sometimes, atonement for the previous generations' mistakes falls squarely on the shoulders of the descendants. And it's up to her to make things right"--

Book Synopsis

A woman learns the incredible story of a real-life American Kingdom--and her family's ties to it--in this enthralling novel from the New York Times bestselling, NAACP Image Award-winning author of Take My Hand.

As featured in The Washington Post ∙ People ∙ Harper's Bazaar ∙ NPR ∙ TODAY ∙ PopSugar ∙ Reader's Digest ∙ SheReads ∙ Woman's World ∙ Real Simple ∙ BookBrowse ∙ and more!

Nikki hasn't seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she's determined to learn the truth while she still can.

But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.

It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale--royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family's secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.

Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.

Review Quotes

"An intergenerational epic with urgent contemporary stakes. . . Replete with confounding human dilemmas, intricately nuanced characters, and startlingly original romance, this intimate family drama subtly weaves into a national indictment of ongoing predatory property law and the history of Black land loss."--Oprah Daily

"A scenic read with depth."--TODAY

"Picture a time when a kingdom existed inside the confines of the Carolinas--a time when freedpeople were royalty. What if that was your history, instead of the trauma of enslavement and generational poverty? As Dolen Perkins-Valdez says in this astonishing, historical-based novel--a family tree isn't just something you draw on paper. It's only when you're rooted in the soil that your family once inhabited that your imagination can brush the sky."--Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name

"No one writes the historical novel quite like Dolen Perkins-Valdez, and with Happy Land, she's at her brilliant best, opening History's treasure-filled chest--and then, bringing that history to life. Here is the Ancestor who cried, laughed, and hoped before any of us were born. Here is the vulnerable earth that tenders its secrets. In Happy Land, Perkins-Valdez offers the knowledge that we surely need: to move forward, we must understand what came before. Her existing fans will be so satisfied--and her new readers will be captivated."--Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

"Dolen Perkins-Valdez has the range, depth, and vision to capture the dreams of a people on the pages of a novel. Happy Land is exactly the novel we need right here, right now. Accompanied by the musical speech of the American south, Perkins-Valdez sings a song to remind us that freedom is worth fighting for."--Tayari Jones, New York Times bestselling author of An American Marriage

"What a story! Happy Land is an exhilarating tale of perseverance, identity, and love that echoes across generations. This story of formerly enslaved families in the Blue Ridge Mountains who built a community against all odds will stay with me for a long time."--Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

"Happy Land is the balm we all need now: a vivid imagining of past events that picks up where the archives fall short, and in doing so, not only repairs our limited view into the past, but brings potential for healing in our present and future."--Ilyon Woo, New York Times bestselling author of Master Slave Husband Wife

"Perkins-Valdez (Take My Hand) shines in this exquisite tale . . . It's a beautifully rendered depiction of a lost world . . . Readers will be deeply satisfied."--Publishers Weekly

"A lyrical and unique work of historical fiction . . . Fans of hidden-history narratives will enjoy her hopeful, empowering tale."--Library Journal

"Perkins-Valdez's characters are tenacious and industrious, thoughtful and curious, and their desire to preserve where they came from forms the heart of the novel."--BookPage

"Inspired by the true story of the Kingdom of the Happy Land, this mesmerizing tale shows how aspects of our history help us see ourselves in a new light."--Real Simple

"Happy Land offers a powerful narrative of ancestral pride, identity, and the fight for belonging. Inspired by real events, this novel is a moving testament to reclaiming one's heritage and the strength passed down through generations."--SheReads

"A tale of perseverance, love, and hope."--Woman's World

"Sensitively rendered and potently described, Happy Land asks important questions about self-determination and explores the complexities of enduring emotional bonds."--Shelf Awareness

"Perkins-Valdez excels at historical fiction, and we are running not walking to read this one."--Scary Mommy

"Reading Happy Land felt like the antidote to watching the national news. It's a reminder to view current events through a wider lens. And to dream."--Washington Independent Review of Books

About the Author

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Take My Hand (2022), which was awarded an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and a Fiction award from the Black Caucus American Library Association, and was long-listed for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. A three-time nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship, Dolen is widely considered a preeminent chronicler of American historical life.