Ride South Until the Sawgrass

"With sparse, honed prose reminiscent of Annie Proulx, Chapin untangles and weaves again the stories of three families as they struggle in the mire of an ever-changing landscape and seek to find their place within it."

—Steph Post, author of Lightwood



From the moment Nat Quinto and his wife Lucy set foot in the Florida Territory, they can't seem to steer clear of Jake Primrose, a rancher whose schemes to increase his already plentiful wealth ensnare everyone around him. Between Primrose's greed and the brutal conflicts brewing in the Territory surrounding them, will the Quinto family be able to stay true to themselves?


In four tales, the paths of the Primrose and Quinto families cross, separate, and inevitably intertwine in this virtuosic debut set during the tumultuous years of the Florida Territory's Second Seminole War and early statehood.


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"James Chapin brings a fraught era and place into electrifying focus in this thrilling and torrential southern. He is definitely a writer to watch."

—Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood



"Ride South until the Sawgrass is an engaging and rewarding debut from James Chapin, who brings to the page the intimacy and skill of a veteran imaginist. This story feels genuine and raw, and lands among the best fiction writing inspired by rugged old Florida."

—Ben Montgomery, author of Grandma Gatewood's Walk



"With an intimate and granular eye for detail, James Chapin gives an exquisite account of the intertwined fortunes of families and communities fighting at the margins to shape the course of history."

—Tauno Biltsted, author of The Anatomist's Tale