Sand Mansions: A Novel, by Norman Gilliland

In 1876, a close presidential contest was tilted by means of a few stuffed ballot boxes, one of which came from the village of Archer, Florida. That fraud is the departure point for Norman Gilliland’s historical novel Sand Mansions, a remarkable story of carpetbag politics, get-rich-quick schemes, and hasty justice—a story based closely on events that shaped the history of northern Florida and the nation in the years 1876 to 1905. Unforgettable characters include a former slave who became a wealthy plantation owner, a clever and corrupt political boss, a deadly black outlaw, and his Irish priest accomplice. And here are stories of a 14,000-acre lake that disappears, a grandiose planned community nipped in the bud by a yellow fever epidemic, devastating freezes, and a vote by ten men to determine the future of two competing towns.