Hornets Nest

The first work of fiction by a President of the United States — a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence.

In this ambitious novel, Jimmy Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the Deep South. This is a saga that will change the way we think about the conflict. He reminds us that much of the fight for independence took place in that region and that it was a struggle of terrible brutality, with neighbor turned against neighbor, the Indians’ support sought by both sides, no quarter asked or given. The Hornet’s Nest follows a cast of characters on both sides of this violent conflict — including some who are based on the author’s ancestors.

At the heart of the story is Ethan Pratt, who in 1766 moves with his wife from Philadelphia to North Carolina and then to Georgia in 1767. On their homesteads in Georgia, Ethan and his wife form a friendship with neighbors, Kindred Morris and his wife. Through Kindred and a his young Indian friend, Ethan learns about the frontier and the Native American tribes who are being continually pressed further inland by settlers. As the eight-year war develops, Ethan and Kindred find themselves in life-and-death combat with opposing forces.

With a moving love story, vivid action, and a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, The Hornet’s Nest is historical fiction in the tradition of major classics as The Last of the Mohicans.