Fort Lafayette or, Love and Secession: A Novel

Set on a Virginia river estate as secession looms, the narrative follows Oriana Weems, an orphaned young woman whose return from school coincides with her brother's homecoming and a circle of suitors and rivals. Social ambition, jealousy, and local resentments—embodied by a coarse, determined suitor—complicate courtship, while political tensions intrude on family loyalties and community life. The plot interweaves romance, class conflict, and moral choice as private affections and public politics collide, tracing how personal relationships are strained and reshaped by the pressures of secession and wartime upheaval.