The Angry Wife by Pearl S. Buck

A Post-Civil War Reconstruction Novel of Virginia Plantations, Interracial Marriage, and Family Friction

Following the American Civil War, two brothers return to their ruined family plantation, Malvern, in Virginia. Pierce Delaney attempts to restore the plantation using traditional Confederate social hierarchies, while his younger brother Tom, traumatized by a Union prison camp, marries Bettina, a former enslaved woman on the estate.

Their marriage sparks bitter family conflict, forcing the Delaneys to confront Southern racial prejudice and Reconstruction-era social change across a divided nation.

Why You’ll Love This Book

Nobel laureate Pearl S. Buck (writing under the pseudonym John Sedges) delivers a poignant Reconstruction-era novel examining race, brotherhood, and Southern society. Essential reading for fans of Margaret Mitchell, Edward P. Jones, and Lalita Tademy.