Queen of Memphis

by Martin Hegwood

"The must read Southern novel of the year! By mixing dark secrets reminiscent of Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom ! with the strong sense of place Conroy created in South of Broad and the class distinctions depicted in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Martin Hegwood has crafted a truly iconic multi-generational novel, Queen of Memphis (2024). The manuscript deservedly won the first-place award in the William Faulkner Literary Competition in 2022." ------ Southern Literary Review

LuAnn Collier, a small-town beauty queen from the Delta, has eloped with Burniss Winnforth, the most sought-after bachelor in Memphis, and her new mother-in-law Maggie is furious. The Winnforths are the leaders of Memphis society, and the Colliers are what Maggie considers "common", a bunch of low-class gamblers or worse, so she's not about to sit back and let this flashy gold-digger into the family, not without a fight. And Maggie's campaign of gossip and ostracism to run LuAnn off is particularly vicious because she's driven by a force more powerful than mere snobbery.

Maggie's scared to death that LuAnn will uncover a long-buried Winnforth family secret, one so shocking that it could knock the family from the pinnacle of Memphis society. But running LuAnn off is a lot harder than Maggie ever imagined.
LuAnn Collier is every bit as strong-willed as Maggie, every bit as tough, and with the battle lines drawn, she's every bit as determined to claw her way to the top of the Memphis social ladder as Maggie is to keep her from doing so.

“Queen of Memphis is part Southern Gothic, part lifestyle commentary, and in totality, consuming, hilarious, and thought-provoking. It’s populated by characters we who grew up in the South (or perhaps anywhere) all know. As you read about the Winnforths of Memphis and all those in their orbit, you will experience a knowing familiarity.”
--- Richard Lucas, columnist Our Mississippi Home.

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2024

Reviews

[Dave Marsland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a copy of Queen of Memphis based on a glowing review in the Southern Literary Review. My book arrived in January, and I thought ooow. So it went on the shelf somewhere east of the TBR. And yet for some reason unbeknown to me, I picked it up this week and devoured it in two days. Set in Memphis it’s a multi-generational story of corruption and avarice, of class, or lack of it. The people who lack it are the monied. Politics, corporate greed and dark secrets are at the heart of the book.
It's a hugely entertaining read. Many of the characters you will recognise from whatever part of the world you are from, presuming it has a golf club or a country club. Queen of Memphis is a page turner that’s really well written and is hilarious in parts. I felt foolish for not reading it as soon as it arrived. It may not be the best book I’ll read this year (although not far off) but may well be the most enjoyable.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a brain-candy, like a soap opera. Read it on a long flight so it served its purpose. Do I remember the story or details, absolutely not but it did keep me entertained.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mississippi Delta haves and the Memphis haves come together through customs that make steps up the social ladder. The journey deviates through D.C., Jackson, Mississippi. A black man, whose end was not pretty, paid his poll tax to vote. (No more poll tax in Mississippi!) I learned something about Lobbyists and to what lengths their 'bosses' would go to get favorable legislation. Questions of paternity was carried throughout the book. Having sex with two men during the fertile days could make a woman wonder who fathered her child. Nothing like that ever happened to me, but it did happen to woman I know.
The plot was thin, but the characters were well developed. I gave the book four stars because I could find a little of myself in each character. The book needed editing. Sex was of the fluttering window curtain type. There was no gutter language.

Thank you, Sir, for a good read.