The Empress of Cooke County
"Get ready to laugh! Elizabeth Bass Parman is a true Southern storyteller. I couldn't have loved it more." --Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author
Posey Jarvis knows she's the rightful empress of Cooke County . . . She just needs to make everyone else realize it too.
Thirty-eight-year-old Posey Jarvis is the self-appointed "empress" of rural Spark in Cooke County, Tennessee. She spends her days following every word about her idol and look-alike Jackie Kennedy, avoiding her stalwart husband Vern, and struggling to control her newly defiant daughter Callie Jane--all while sneaking nips of gin. When Posey unexpectedly inherits a derelict mansion from her quirky old aunt Milbrey, she finagles her way into hosting her high school's twentieth reunion there. She cares nothing about seeing her classmates, but she cares deeply about seeing the love of her life, a man who dumped her nineteen years ago. Possums are nesting in the parlor and the stench of cat urine permeates the sunroom, but she must be ready for the big day, even if she has to do the work herself.
Eighteen-year-old Callie Jane finds herself accidentally engaged and is panicking about her fast-approaching wedding. She's also had enough of her domineering mother. Even though she loves her father, the idea of working at his emporium for the rest of her life just makes her . . . so sad. She longs to escape from her mother, her job, her upcoming wedding, and the creepy Peeping Tom terrorizing the town. She dreams of leaving everything she's ever known in her rearview mirror and starting over in California. But when her life has been mapped out for her from birth, how can she break free?
Set in a gossipy small town during the turbulent 1960s and full of Southern charm and unforgettable characters, The Empress of Cooke County is a novel about found family, what it means to be loved, and how being true to yourself can have life-altering consequences.
- Southern women's fiction
- Stand-alone novel
- Book length: approximately 82,000 words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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Elizabeth Bass Parman grew up entranced by family stories, such as the time her grandmother woke to find Eleanor Roosevelt making breakfast in her kitchen. She worked for many years as a reading specialist for a non-profit and spends her summers in a cottage by a Canadian lake. She has two grown daughters and lives outside her native Nashville with her husband and maybe-Maltipoo, Pippin. Follow Elizabeth online at elizabethbassparman.com; X: @e_parman; Instagram: @elizabethbassparman
'First-time novelist Parman delivers a twisted tale of small-town drama. Fans of gothic tales or Southern novels will enjoy this.'--Library Journal
'Funny, fast-moving, suspenseful, with unforgettable and deeply drawn characters, THE EMPRESS OF COOKE COUNTY will rivet readers.'--Lee Smith, New York Times bestselling author
'Get ready to laugh! Elizabeth Bass Parman is a true Southern storyteller. I couldn't have loved THE EMPRESS OF COOKE COUNTY more.'--Fannie Flagg, New York Times bestselling author
'THE EMPRESS OF COOKE COUNTY gives you a juicy taste of small-town Southern life at its best! Be prepared to laugh out loud as you race through pages full of secrets, high drama, and an unpredictable ending!'--Lisa Patton, bestselling author of WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER
'You won't simply read THE EMPRESS OF COOKE COUNTY, you will fall into a world we all long for: sizzling small-town life in the American south with its secret history, vivid characters, and juicy dramas. If the complicated JEZEBEL and the feisty women of STEEL MAGNOLIAS had a baby, it might be Posey Jarvis. Put on a pot of coffee, cut yourself a wedge of chess pie and dive in.'--Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE
