Son of Andalusia Farm

Son of Andalusia Farm by Thomas K. Mathews

(Sorry, I've had trouble downloading the artwork which is one of the best covers I've seen.)

I’ve read and reviewed five books by Thomas K. Matthews in this blogs, and he is one of those talented writers who somehow has not caught on with the reasonably large following that he deserves. He has a project that may come to pass with a large movie production company, so maybe that will bring his talents to a bigger audience. My favorite novel of his was one of his early ones, Rejection, a thriller murder mystery. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

 

This novel is a literary fiction entitled Son of Andalusia Farm. This story began in 1918, but mostly takes place during the 1930s and 1940s on a former cotton plantation near Montgomery, Alabama. The plantation had been converted to one of the notorious southern prisons which housed both black and white prisoners although those groups were mostly segregated in this story. It’s about the mysterious history of the Bradley Family and it’s hidden past. The Warden of the Andalusia Prison Farm, Hollister Thatcher, was married to Elizabeth Bradley who desperately wanted a child although the warden really had no interest in having a baby. When Elizabeth proved to be barren, she stole the baby of an inmate who had received a 17-year sentence for tenuous reasons. The prisoner was already pregnant at the time of her incarceration. Since the warden had dictatorial powers over his prisoners, and since the birth mother Mariah had been threatened if she ever spoke of this matter, it was Elizabeth who raised James as her own child.

 

This story is about the unfair and sociopathic practices of the warden. James turned out to be a good man, actually a godly one, and when Elizabeth died when James was about 14, the warden perceived him as a threat to his own significant misbehaviors against the prisoners who were in his custody. Warden Thatcher did all he could do to harm his son, falsely declaring that he had stolen money so James could become a prisoner. It was the warden’s attempt to break James’ spirit that led to such sadistic decisions. Guilt about his behaviors led the warden to mismanagement of the prisoners and extreme alcoholism, and his alcoholism only led to more poor judgments which finally came to the attention of Bureau of Prisons in Alabama.

 

I’ll leave the unveiling of the plot to the next reader to discover. This is a very well-written novel with a timely plot development and compelling characters. I give this book my strong recommendation.