Mississippi Innocents is a Southern Gothic Novel set in the Mississippi Delta at the turn of the twentieth century. It was inspired by the stories of my mother's childhood on a Plantation called Boone Deadening in Washington County, Mississippi. It draws from the rich cultures of the delta, including Black, Choctaw, and her own as a descendant of early English and German settlers. The book is based on these family stories and is woven together with my own imagination, childhood experiences and those of my siblings into one continuous cloth that is Mississippi Innocents. Jackie, the heroine, is a very sensative and spiritual child. Consequently, the book contains many spiritual elements that recur throughout the story. One is a mystical white Choctaw dog that appears often and becomes a symbol and unifying element in the storyline. Jackie and her brother, Allen, transport you through the book with their adventurous life traveling through the Mississippi Delta on foot, by canoe, in horse driven wagons and buggies and on the Yellow Dog Train steaming its way from Belzoni to Yazoo City where they attend school. The novel is warm, humorous, spiritual, and poetic all the while dealing with many serious issues such as black magic, racial inequality, greed, religion, loyalty, courage and death. It contains legends and stories within stories. Some of the stories were handed down from genertion to generation and "no one knows from whence they came." Some who have read it say that it charmed them, reminded them of their Southern roots, made them laugh, made them cry and kept them intrigued from begining to end.
Show moreMississippi Innocents is a Southern Gothic Novel set in the Mississippi Delta at the turn of the twentieth century. It was inspired by the stories of my mother's childhood on a Plantation called Boone Deadening in Washington County, Mississippi. It draws from the rich cultures of the delta, including Black, Choctaw, and her own as a descendant of early English and German settlers. The book is based on these family stories and is woven together with my own imagination, childhood experiences and those of my siblings into one continuous cloth that is Mississippi Innocents. Jackie, the heroine, is a very sensative and spiritual child. Consequently, the book contains many spiritual elements that recur throughout the story. One is a mystical white Choctaw dog that appears often and becomes a symbol and unifying element in the storyline. Jackie and her brother, Allen, transport you through the book with their adventurous life traveling through the Mississippi Delta on foot, by canoe, in horse driven wagons and buggies and on the Yellow Dog Train steaming its way from Belzoni to Yazoo City where they attend school. The novel is warm, humorous, spiritual, and poetic all the while dealing with many serious issues such as black magic, racial inequality, greed, religion, loyalty, courage and death. It contains legends and stories within stories. Some of the stories were handed down from genertion to generation and "no one knows from whence they came." Some who have read it say that it charmed them, reminded them of their Southern roots, made them laugh, made them cry and kept them intrigued from begining to end.
Show moreBetty Chisolm Hutzler was raised in San Antonio, Texas, attended the University of Houston and received a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts graduating with honors. She is a thirteenth generation Southern woman with lineage dating back to the founding of America with ancestors at Jamestowne. Her great grandfather was Lt. Col. Thomas Chisolm who fought in George Washington's Continental Line. Her Great Aunt was Ann Cuthbert, the first woman to own property in the State of Georgia. Ann owned Mulberry Grove Plantation. The property later passed into the hand's of Nathanial Green where George Washinton was entertained on several occasions. Betty is a member of The Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of the American Revolution and The Jamestowne Society. Mississippi Innocents is a work of love dedicated to her mother, Edna "Jackie" Guarr Chisolm. It was written as a therapeutic endeavor when her mother passed away to help in her loss. She took stories recounted to her by her mother and other family members and wove them into the tapestry of this book. When she wrote about her family, they "lived again" on paper and in her vivid imagination. Her experience was that the characters began to speak and she merely took dictation. It was as if a movie was playing in her mind's eye or imagination. According to Betty, it was a mystical/spiritual experience. Some have tried to paint the South with a broad brush and stereotype the people of this part of America. Betty's family lived in a unique crucible of cultures and spirituality. Their experience and perception of their environment and the people who inhabited the delta region was not as others have portrayed it. This is another important reason she felt compelled to write and publish her family's account of life in the Mississippi Delta at Boone Deadening at the turn of the twentieth century. Betty hopes that this book entertains you, brings you a new understanding of the South, gives you joy and enriches your life in some small measure.
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