A poor man's supper..
By Jim Gulledge
The story of live and loss of Appalachian boy whom circumstances caused him to leave home for town. The resulting situation causes him to return to the mountains of his birth. A poignant tale of personal struggle.. and sadden tragedy. Gives a unique historic lesson about social pressures of the late 18th century.

This book was just okay for me. The descriptions were beautiful but there really wasn’t much to the story.

I received a free electronic ARC of this southern novel on November 5, 2020, from Netgalley, author Jim Gulledge, and publisher BooksGoSocial. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this historical novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Jim Gulledge will go on my favorite author's list. This tale is compelling and picturesque, with empathetic and well-drawn characters.

A Poor Man's Supper takes place in and around Tugaloo, North Carolina, on Colt Creek before it joins up with Green River. Taking place between the Civil War and World War One, life is hard, food is limited and there are no jobs available for southern men.

We see our story begin through the eyes of orphaned 16-year-old Josiah Buckland, driven by hunger down from the mountain farm he was raised on, and Vancie Keller, 2 or 3 years younger and daughter of a poor widowed single mother on the family farm outside of Tugaloo.

Josiah finds work at the town livery stable. He gets no particular salary, but a cot in the stable to sleep in, and his supper provided by the owner, with the odd coin tossed his way when in hand. Money is not much available in that place and time, barter is the accepted method of trade.

As was the tradition of the time, Vancie has no education, no training nor any salable talents. Her only choice of direction in her life is that of poor spinster or wife and mother. Falling in love with Josiah, currently employed at the livery stables in Tugaloo, was very ill-advised. Sex without protection will take away even that choice. Vancie's mother makes what she considers to be the only choice for her daughter. There is no way she will let her marry that poor stable hand.