In a novel that is quickly earning national attention, author Dolen Perkins-Valdez invites readers into the little-known world of a post-Civil War Black kingdom tucked away in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. “Happy Land,” her fourth historical novel, has already been named one of 2025’s most anticipated titles by “People,” “Harper’s Bazaar,” “Reader’s Digest” and more.
With “Happy Land,” Perkins-Valdez turns her attention to the often-overlooked rural Black communities of Appalachia.
“When we think about rural America, we don’t often think about country Black folks,” she said. “I wanted to write a book that honored them.”
The novel uses a dual timeline, weaving historical narratives with a contemporary storyline that explores identity, legacy and reclamation.
“Local communities have a lot of ownership over their stories,” Perkins-Valdez explained. “So when I research, I work closely with the people who live in those places. That connection is important to me.”
Of particular interest to the author were the voices of Black women in this self-made kingdom. At the center of the novel is Nikki, a modern woman who receives an unexpected call from her estranged grandmother, Mother Rita, summoning her to the mountains.
“What did freedom mean for Black women in the 1800s?” Perkins-Valdez asked. “It meant the freedom to love who they wanted to love, to feel beautiful without fear, and to have political power in their own community.”
There, Nikki uncovers a lineage that connects her to a 19th-Century kingdom built by formerly enslaved people — and to her great-great-great-grandmother Luella, who reigned as queen.
“This is my love letter to the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina,” Perkins-Valdez said in the recent interview. “It’s a meditation on family and community and what it means to know our history — the cost of not knowing that history.”
While “Happy Land” offers readers a deeply personal story of rediscovery, it also brings to light a little-known historical reality. The real “Kingdom of the Happy Land” was established by freedpeople who traveled from South Carolina to the mountains of North Carolina in the years following the Civil War. There, they created a self-sustaining, independent community with its own government and economy.
“They pooled their resources, grew their own food, created their own government, and eventually purchased that land,” Perkins-Valdez said. “They called it Happy Land.”
When it comes to her own personal story of rediscovery, Perkins-Valdez, originally from Memphis, Tennessee, shared that despite growing up not knowing any writers, books have always been, metaphorically, her “happy land.” She says what didn’t initially register as a career path translated into one from joy.
“I was an avid reader growing up in a family of non-readers,” she said. “One day I wandered into the library, saw a course catalog, and found a creative writing workshop. I enrolled — and I was hooked.”
For Perkins-Valdez, writing is more than just storytelling — it’s a form of activism.
“I live in Washington, D.C., and I often feel like I’m not in a position of power,” she said. “But I believe in the power of art to change people’s hearts and minds. Every day that I write another word is me feeling like I have something to say.”
Now a New York Times bestselling author, Perkins-Valdez has established herself as a pre-eminent chronicler of American historical life. Her debut novel “Wench” (2010) was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction. In 2011, HarperCollins selected “Wench” as one of eight limited-edition modern classics alongside works by Zora Neale Hurston, Edward P. Jones, and Louise Erdrich.
Her 2022 novel “Take My Hand” — inspired by true events of involuntary sterilizations in 1970s Alabama — was named a Most Anticipated Book by Newsweek, San Francisco Chronicle, “Essence,” and others. The book won the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction, the BCALA Award, and the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, which honors outstanding work that fosters public understanding of law and the legal system. The audiobook was also named a Best of 2022 by Audible.
This year, as “Happy Land” hits shelves nationwide, readers will find in its pages not just a forgotten kingdom, but the vibrant legacy of a people who dared to dream freely.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a three-time nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship and is currently associate professor in the literature department at American University. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.
To purchase her book, visit her website at www.dolenperkinsvaldez.com. Additionally, she hosts a book club online that highlights historical fiction centered on women’s stories.
Otherwise, you can connect with her on Instagram @DolenPerkinsValdez, where she regularly shares updates and historical reflections.
Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses to jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.