In The Fall

"To say that this is an astonishing piece of work for a first time novelists underrates it. This is an astonishing piece of work-period. No part of Lent's narrative is superficial. Loamy and visceral, Lent's writing is deeply introspective, intelligent, and beautifully descriptive." -Booklist

In the Fall is an extraordinary epic of three generations of an American family, the dark secrets that blister at its core, and the forbidden, transcendent love affairs that fuel the characters over the course of six decades.

In the twilight of the Civil War, Union soldier Norman Pelham meets a runaway slave named Leah and returns with her to his family homestead in Vermont, launching the story of a bold, inter-racial union and its consequences. This passionate couple and their descendants will grapple with the ongoing devastations of the war, racism and a haunting family legacy that lies dormant until a grandson is driven to discover the secret of his ancestors.

Spanning post-Civil War America to the edge of the Depression, In the Fall is an incredible rendering of a rapidly evolving America from life on a farm, through the final years of Prohibition and bootlegging in the resort towns of New Hampshire, to the advent of modern times. Jeffrey Lent's novel is a fierce and utterly compelling vision of an American landscape and history and an unforgettable portrait of an American family.