Tales of Little Egypt

by James Gilbert

Tales of Little Egypt is a fictional account of small town America and the peculiar, ordinary, eccentric, sturdy, cunning, and contented characters who created it. Set in the years between the Civil War and the great Influenza Plague of 1918, this is a pageant of imaginary people--the narratives of a score of men, women, and children whose lives illustrate the immense changes and challenges of that turbulent era. This was a period of great events and outsized personalities: splendid World's Fairs attended by millions, radical new inventions, devastating wars and violent revolutions; leaders like Theodore Roosevelt. But underneath were the people whose stories are as fascinating, troubled, compelling and triumphant as anything that has occupied the attention of historians. There was the town doctor, the local sheriff, the jeweler, the self-appointed matron of morality, a young black girl and her mother, a boy who ran off to the circus and many others: lovers, criminals, teachers, ministers, and odd characters. As a community, their lives and ambitions, their failures and tragedies--sometimes at their own making--and their small successes intersected and became a part of each other.

Marion, Illinois is both a real place and the imaginary location for these stories. Set in the center of Little Egypt, Marion is a county seat in the middle of this unique area, a river delta wedged between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. These two great highways of American immigration and trade sent millions of settlers North and South, East and West and back. The few who stopped off to make it their home created something distinctive. Theirs was a society that reflected the crossroads it occupied and the mix of cultures and sections that it represented. It was both nowhere and everywhere. Therefore their struggles to make sense of this world exemplify the tale and the memory of modern America in the making.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2020

About the author

I always wanted (and intended) to write fiction but I had to wait beyond a profession in academics to begin my second life as a novelist. As a historian, I published ten books on American culture, and I was fortunate enough to spend a number of years as visiting professor in Europe and Australia. This was immensely satisfying, but it still didn't fulfill my desire to write imaginative works--to be free from the objectivity demanded by the history profession.
Toward the end of my academic career, I began to become aware--painfully aware--of the limitations of historical writing, and I turned to fiction because of its ability to imagine (without footnotes) the interior thoughts, motivations, and expression of character.
I began my new career cautiously. My first venture was a self-published book of short stories, entitled, SECRETS AND STRANGERS. This was really an apprenticeship for my next book entitled THE KEY PARTY (a satire on the golf community where I grew up).
My next novel, ZONA ROMANTICA, was published in the spring of 2020 with the amateur sleuth, Amanda Pennyworth, the American Consul to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Completely different from my first novel, it is a mystery in an exotic, but familiar setting.
A third novel appeared in October, 2020, entitled TALES OF LITTLE EGYPT. This was a new genre of writing for me and took the unusual format of thirteen integrated stories about imaginary characters who lived in Marion, Illinois at the turn of the 19th Century, in the unique area called "Little Egypt."
Following that, I returned to writing mysteries, and published MURDER AT THE OLYMPIAD, also set in Puerto Vallarta and with the same sleuth as ZONA ROMANTICA.
The third book in this Amanda Pennyworth series, and appearing just now is MURDER AT AMAPAS BEACH.
And finally, there is a new work in the Pennyworth series entitled: MURDER ON THE SET.
All of my novels, (and I think necessarily), reflect my experiences and memories disguised and re-imagined by fiction. TALES OF LITTLE EGYPT, for example, is loosely based upon my childhood summers spent in Southern Illinois, and the extended family which is my heritage there. And the mystery series set in Puerto Vallarta is based on several trips to that popular tourist destination and my fascination with the mixture of cultures (Mexican and American) that define this vacation Mecca. It seemed to me the perfect setting involving a sleuth who must navigate between two cultures to solve a crime.

Reviews

[Astrid Galactic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while a book comes along that you know is a cut above the others. Tales of Little Egypt by James Gilbert is just one of those books. It is the story of a collection of individuals who manage to find themselves living in a small community in the area around Marion, Illinois during the turn of the century following the Civil War. We get to know several of these characters and how they fit into the fabric of the area, for better or worse. Some are new to the town while others eventually leave. A few are more high profile while others play minor roles. Whichever the case, each and every one of these members have their place in Little Egypt and their own story worth telling.

One could say that these tales are an evolutionary microcosm of life in America during a period of one person's memory as they look back on life as they knew it to be. A glimpse of a mix of characters, attitudes, expectations and changes that all coincide to make Little Egypt that town it was for those who lived there at a given period of time. Each character has been given a rich life of detail to be told, from the most feeble to the most respected, and one as interesting as the other. They all have their place within the community, for better or worse.

The book was nicely crafted in how it was laid out. Characters were given their own chapters which would eventually intertwine as various members of the community would interact. There was also a proper sense of time, or period, as the story evolves from the end of the Civil War to the Pandemic of 1918. It never felt forced but, instead, very naturally evolved as time moved along until we've come full circle where the story reached a point where it was time to wrap things up.

Personally, I found Tales of Little Egypt to be quite pleasing and read very much like a great Classic. This is a book that would sit very nicely on a library shelf along the likes of such authors as Theodore Dreiser, Anthony Trollope, Henry James and Upton Sinclair. A book that will stay with you well after the reading and maybe even return for another round if you are so inclined.

[Wisconsin Alumni]

James Gilbert MA’63, PhD’66
Author

From the author:
Tales of Little Egypt is a collection of short stories set between the last years of the Civil War to the great influenza plague of 1918. This is a pageant of imaginary characters — the narratives of a score of men, women, and children whose lives illustrate the immense changes and challenges of that turbulent era. This was a time of great events and outsized personalities: splendid World's Fairs attended by millions, radical new inventions, devastating wars and violent revolutions: leaders like Theodore Roosevelt. But underneath were the people whose stories are as fascinating, troubled, compelling and triumphant as anything that has occupied the attention of historians. Set in Marion, Illinois — a place neither truly South nor North — these stories depict the lives and ambitions, failures and tragedies--sometimes of their own making — and their small successes that intersected and became a part of a small town community struggling with the beginning of the modern world.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so fortunate to receive this book from a Goodreads giveaway. While this is not my normal genre, I truly enjoyed reading this from the start. The characters were developed with careful attention and truly made them relatable even though this is set in a completely different era. It was fascinating how the individual stories blended together to make the community. Truly a literary piece to be cherished and to compare with the current state of the world today.

[Frida Dillenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads so smoothly with depth of emotion for each character introduced. The author created a community of people with intertwined lives. This community has us all included with many of the same issues we endure still to this day. It is interesting how our country has changed over the past 100 years but also as interesting is how people have emotionally remained unchanged, caged in our own spiritual, emotional and limited perceptions. A Goodread for certain with a look into the past as well as into our current state of humanity.

[Elaine Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome new book. Well written! Powerful images. Enjoyable. Thank you good reads for my winning this book!

[Amy Byers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!!! Loved the energy!! I want so much more!!!!Keep them coming!!!

[Ciaran McLarnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

An excellent book that covers a very interesting time in history, and written in an entertaining style. The efforts to describe the area are impressive