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Falconhurst #3
Master of Falconhurst
Like Mandingo and Drum, Master of Falconhurst shatters the genteel image of the Old South and lays bare the savage truth about slavery and slave-breeding...about plantations like Falconhurst where the cash crop was black flesh, where human beings were stripped bare in the marketplace and sold like cattle.
In this great new bestseller, Kyle Onstott unfolds the turbulent drama of Falconhurst caught up in the violence of the Civil War. It also is the story of Drummage, the virile and handsome slave who rose to become not only ruler of Falconhurst, but master of the selfish, sensual woman who owned it.
In this great new bestseller, Kyle Onstott unfolds the turbulent drama of Falconhurst caught up in the violence of the Civil War. It also is the story of Drummage, the virile and handsome slave who rose to become not only ruler of Falconhurst, but master of the selfish, sensual woman who owned it.
446 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
33 people are currently reading
625 people want to read
About the author
Kyle Onstott
23 books41 followers(Information from the article "The Master of Mandingo" by Rudy Maxa, which appeared in The Washington Post, July 13, 1975.)
The son of a midwestern general store owner, he moved to California with his widowed mother in the early 1900s and was a local breeder and judge in regional dog shows. He was an eccentric who was happy with a life of little work, ample cigarettes, and gin.
After collaborating with his adopted son on a book on dog breeding, he decided to write a book that would make him rich. Utilizing his son's anthropology research on West Africa, he handwrote Mandingo and his son served as editor. Denlinger's, a small Virginia publisher, released it and it became a national sensation, consumed by the public and derided by the critics.
After its paperback release by Fawcett, Onstott began his collaboration with Lance Horner, a Boston eccentric with a knack for recreating Onstott's style. The two men never met, but they collaborated on several books before Onstott's death, after which Horner continued the Falconhurst saga and penned other pulpy novels set in other eras. When Horner died in 1970, Fawcett signed prolific author Harry Whittington to continue writing Falconhurst tales under the name of Ashley Carter.
Although the Falconhurst series has sold near or over 15 million copies, it (and its authors) remain in the shadows of bestselling popular literature.
The son of a midwestern general store owner, he moved to California with his widowed mother in the early 1900s and was a local breeder and judge in regional dog shows. He was an eccentric who was happy with a life of little work, ample cigarettes, and gin.
After collaborating with his adopted son on a book on dog breeding, he decided to write a book that would make him rich. Utilizing his son's anthropology research on West Africa, he handwrote Mandingo and his son served as editor. Denlinger's, a small Virginia publisher, released it and it became a national sensation, consumed by the public and derided by the critics.
After its paperback release by Fawcett, Onstott began his collaboration with Lance Horner, a Boston eccentric with a knack for recreating Onstott's style. The two men never met, but they collaborated on several books before Onstott's death, after which Horner continued the Falconhurst saga and penned other pulpy novels set in other eras. When Horner died in 1970, Fawcett signed prolific author Harry Whittington to continue writing Falconhurst tales under the name of Ashley Carter.
Although the Falconhurst series has sold near or over 15 million copies, it (and its authors) remain in the shadows of bestselling popular literature.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 13, 2011
I read this book many years ago. I don't remember the whole story; however, I remember it is about slavery in the U.S. I think this is a historical fiction because the book actually reflexes many of the atrocities that actually occurred during slavery. The characters are not real; however, slave owners, overseers, and slaves are a historical fact. Slaves had to work as house and field slaves under owners and overseers who saw them as property rather than human beings. Slaves had to live in poor conditions, off what ever was provided them. Further, unwanted sex and violence were wrongs that slaves had to endure.
Life on the plantation was and great. The author capitalized on human nature by exploiting our fascination with sex and violence. One thing I do remember is that, I enjoyed the book and read the other books in the series.
Life on the plantation was and great. The author capitalized on human nature by exploiting our fascination with sex and violence. One thing I do remember is that, I enjoyed the book and read the other books in the series.
May 28, 2016
Good book but hurtful and emotional read.
October 8, 2013
I call it historical fiction because I don't have any place else to put it, but it's definitely not terribly historical. It's a story of slave times, but with lots of liberties taken with the human relationships. Or so I suspect at least. I read this back when I was reading anything I could get my hands on, and that meant books my sister was reading at the time. I don't remember it being all that compelling.
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March 20, 2025Before I get to my review, I received this book randomly in a batch of older books that I bought off of ebay. I bought 10 John D MacDonald books, and when the package arrived this book was thrown into it as an extra. It was not listed in the ebay ad, the seller just gave me this book for free.
A few months later, I found this book on my desk and randomly started reading it. I am almost done with the book and it has given me a range of emotions. All bad feelings and I can't determine how I exactly feel about reading this. This is the most shocking book that I have read in a very very long time and some other feelings that I have are sadness, dread and nausea.
It's hard to believe that there was a time in America when you could find a book like this on the shelf at a drugstore. This is a very well written book, however the context and subject manner makes me feel nauseous reading. It is written both as a historical fiction book, but with overtones of some weird trashy novel that you would find at a drug. This book would never be reprinted today and I feel semi-ashamed that I have read it. Looking at this book in 2025 gives the reader a window in time on how horrible the United States was in the past.
It's difficult to give the book a rating.
A few months later, I found this book on my desk and randomly started reading it. I am almost done with the book and it has given me a range of emotions. All bad feelings and I can't determine how I exactly feel about reading this. This is the most shocking book that I have read in a very very long time and some other feelings that I have are sadness, dread and nausea.
It's hard to believe that there was a time in America when you could find a book like this on the shelf at a drugstore. This is a very well written book, however the context and subject manner makes me feel nauseous reading. It is written both as a historical fiction book, but with overtones of some weird trashy novel that you would find at a drug. This book would never be reprinted today and I feel semi-ashamed that I have read it. Looking at this book in 2025 gives the reader a window in time on how horrible the United States was in the past.
It's difficult to give the book a rating.
November 28, 2024
Not sure if I love this book or hate it but did give more of an understanding as to why slavery in America existed for as long as it did, it also explained some of the violence that occurs in America and the race divide which the rest of the world never quite understood. The violence and the right to take another human life or think that you can own another person is just wicked and yet such attrocities existed all across the world and the fact that human trafficking is still happening in this day and age is appalling to me. I am glad I read this book but dont think I have the stomach to ever read it again.
January 1, 2019
The third in the Falconhurst series, it is a continuing tale of cruelty, lust and violence in the pre-Civil War South. Morbidly fascinating, at least it was when I read it back in the 1960's.
January 28, 2021
great and disturbing but truthful series. Love them.
August 20, 2023
Utter trash
June 13, 2011
Soap opera and interracial sex? Here ya go... Date read is a guess.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews