Guy Rivers: A Tale of Georgia

by William Gilmore Simms

"Guy A Tale of Georgia" follows the adventures of its titular character, Guy Rivers, a gambler and outlaw, as he navigates the social and political landscape of Georgia. The novel explores themes of justice, honor, and morality, as well as the clash between civilization and the frontier.

William Gilmore Simms was a prolific author whose works often focused on the American South, its history, and its people. "Guy Rivers" is considered one of his most significant novels, showcasing his talent for vivid storytelling, memorable characters, and evocative descriptions of the Southern landscape.

As a representative work of early American literature, "Guy A Tale of Georgia" offers readers insights into the complexities of life in the antebellum South and remains a notable contribution to the canon of Southern literature.

583 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1993

About the author

William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was a poet, novelist and historian from the American South whose novels achieved great prominence during the 19th century, with Edgar Allan Poe pronouncing him the best novelist America had ever produced. In recent decades, though, Simms' novels have fallen out of favor, although he is still known among literary scholars as a major force in antebellum Southern literature. He is also remembered for his strong support of slavery and for his opposition to Uncle Tom's Cabin, in response to which he wrote reviews and a novel.

Reviews

[Miles Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simms' first border novel, which looks at early 19th Cent Georgia, ca 1828/9 during that state's gold rush. The work labours under the sentimentalism that characterized romanticist literature during the era, but Simms' work is far from a simple regurgitation of earlier romantics. This is a truly southern work, and the setting (N Georgia) and the particular characters offer some vision of the creation of a truly distinct southern literature. Its also an interesting story in its own right. Very much recommended for those interested in southern literature and history, and especially Georgia in the Early Republic.

[J. Alfred · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from a website called "Forgotten Books." Reading it helped me understand why it got that way.
It is one of the worst examples of sentimentalism I've ever come across, as well as being wildly unbalanced: one moment you'll be laughing at an honestly funny scene, the next, somebody's being killed in a strange mix of graphic violence and bathos. There is also an underlying message that mothers, representing society as a whole (but still very much themselves) are responsible for much of humanity's faults. A big ol' (500 page) mess.