In Scarlet Sister Mary, Julia Peterkin tells the powerful story of Mary, a defiant woman in a rural Gullah community who chooses to live on her own terms. After being abandoned by her husband, Mary embraces a life that challenges traditional values, navigating love, motherhood, and social expectations. Set against the backdrop of South Carolina's Lowcountry, this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel offers a vivid and empathetic portrayal of African-American culture, resilience, and identity during the early 20th century.
"Peterkin has a talent which is not only great but unique at the moment in America." — Louis Bromfield
"Peterkin is a southern white woman, but she has the eye and the ear to see beauty and know truth." — W.E.B. Du Bois