Stranger in Dixie

Read Stranger in Dixie Storyline:

"Stranger in Dixie" gives a vivid account of the odyssey of a special man whose endeavours in three different countries in the nineteenth century demanded great courage and creativity. The novel explores several themes including the trauma experienced by the affluent when they fall on hard times, the motivating force of a desire for independence, the importance of encouragement, not criticism in the nurture of human maturity, and how fortune favours those who will "have a go" in the face of adversity. The novel is based upon the life of the author's own Great Grandfather. John Oxley, the son of an affluent English industrial family, had a highly developed social conscience with respect to the poor of the Yorkshire Midlands in the 1840s. His growing interest in left-wing British politics took him to a meeting of the evolving Chartist movement where he became involved in a melee with the local landowners. A poor Irish tenant-farmer had taken offence at the attitude of one of the...