"The most powerful and also the most lyrical novel about race, racism, and denial in the American South since To Kill a Mockingbird." -- Lee Smith, author of On Agate Hill "Exquisitely beautiful... The novel grips the reader from its first page and relentlessly drives us to its conclusion." -- William Ferris, author of Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues An atmospheric debut novel about growing up in the changing South in 1960s Mississippi in the tradition of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees and Kathryn Stockett's The Help. In the words of Jill McCorkle (Going Away Shoes), "Minrose Gwin is an extremely gifted writer and The Queen of Palmyra is a brilliant and compelling novel."