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In the Shadow of the Mountain: Short Stories
In the Shadow of the Mountain is a collection of stories exploring the American Civil War's enduring aftermath. Through the varied experiences of his characters, in settings as far apart as an 1860s sutlers' camp in Kentucky and 1960s downtown Atlanta, the author looks to understand how the great trauma of the war stretches and translates across the decades.
Years after the dislocation of the war, a soldier takes a pilgrimage to try and accept his loss.
A WWII hero, visiting an island cemetery from his childhood, unearths an uncomfortable link to the violence that foreshadowed the Civil War.
While fulfilling his need to connect to the past, a novice re-enactor begins to face up to his troubles in the present.
A young woman fights to escape the dysfunction of a town still traumatized by a battle fought generations ago.
A spinster who's lived her life in the shadow of Stone Mountain, tries to move closer to her heroine and her dreams of a lost past.
Necessarily harsh tales, but often gently and even humorously told, there are twelve themed stories in the collection, plus four outside the collection. In all, ten have been previously published or have won literary awards.
Years after the dislocation of the war, a soldier takes a pilgrimage to try and accept his loss.
A WWII hero, visiting an island cemetery from his childhood, unearths an uncomfortable link to the violence that foreshadowed the Civil War.
While fulfilling his need to connect to the past, a novice re-enactor begins to face up to his troubles in the present.
A young woman fights to escape the dysfunction of a town still traumatized by a battle fought generations ago.
A spinster who's lived her life in the shadow of Stone Mountain, tries to move closer to her heroine and her dreams of a lost past.
Necessarily harsh tales, but often gently and even humorously told, there are twelve themed stories in the collection, plus four outside the collection. In all, ten have been previously published or have won literary awards.
251 pages, Paperback
Published June 4, 2025
1 person is currently reading
About the author
Richard Buxton
9 books34 followersRichard lives with his family in the South Downs, Sussex, England. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University in 2014. He has an abiding relationship with America, having studied at Syracuse University, New York State, in the late eighties.
His short stories have won the Exeter Story Prize, the Bedford International Writing Competition and the Nivalis Short Story Award.
Richard’s first novel, Whirligig, was published in 2017 and shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award. His second novel, The Copper Road, was published in July 2020. His third novel, Tigers in Blue, was published in December 2023.
To learn more about Richard’s writing visit www.richardbuxton.net.
His short stories have won the Exeter Story Prize, the Bedford International Writing Competition and the Nivalis Short Story Award.
Richard’s first novel, Whirligig, was published in 2017 and shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award. His second novel, The Copper Road, was published in July 2020. His third novel, Tigers in Blue, was published in December 2023.
To learn more about Richard’s writing visit www.richardbuxton.net.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 7, 2025
A beautiful collection of exquisitely written stories. Buxton has a wonderful mastery of language and storytelling.
August 1, 2025
It's rare for a short story collection to so consistently deliver this level of quality.
Following the completion of the impressively realised Shire's Union trilogy, Richard Buxton's first short story collection returns to similar territory but with a broader scope. Where Shire's Union was a truly epic look at the American Civil War and its impact on the lives of those caught up in it, here we have a series of stories that explores the war's more lasting impact, ranging from secrets and guilt spread across generations to an entire town reeling from the memory of the war.
While the themes are expansive, dealing with greater historical events, these stories handle them in a deeply personal and acute way, always getting into the individual experience and how it affects interpersonal relations - between spouses, families and even connecting strangers. Buxton presents accounts that are always arresting and moving, with a great sense of time and place, and a real skill for language. He also manages to explore the connected over-arching themes from a variety of original angles, and there's a few bonus pieces that step outside the era at the end to boot.
It's no wonder that so many stories in this collection are award-winners!
Following the completion of the impressively realised Shire's Union trilogy, Richard Buxton's first short story collection returns to similar territory but with a broader scope. Where Shire's Union was a truly epic look at the American Civil War and its impact on the lives of those caught up in it, here we have a series of stories that explores the war's more lasting impact, ranging from secrets and guilt spread across generations to an entire town reeling from the memory of the war.
While the themes are expansive, dealing with greater historical events, these stories handle them in a deeply personal and acute way, always getting into the individual experience and how it affects interpersonal relations - between spouses, families and even connecting strangers. Buxton presents accounts that are always arresting and moving, with a great sense of time and place, and a real skill for language. He also manages to explore the connected over-arching themes from a variety of original angles, and there's a few bonus pieces that step outside the era at the end to boot.
It's no wonder that so many stories in this collection are award-winners!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews