Explore Mary Johnston books at New West Press.

Mary Johnston's books in this collection approach early America through two different kinds of narrative. To Have and to Hold is a historical novel set in colonial Virginia, using danger and personal entanglement to carry its story forward. Pioneers of the Old South turns toward a historical account of settlement and colonial development. Placing them together gives readers an opportunity to compare an author's imaginative reconstruction with her treatment of history more directly. Both invite attention to the forces shaping communities, individual fortunes, and competing claims to a new home.

Historical fiction offers a way to encounter an earlier world through the experiences of individual characters. These stories invite discussion of how private loyalties intersect with public events, and how a novelist makes the past feel immediate. Reading alongside a timeline or historical account can help separate invented episodes from documented events while preserving the pleasure of the narrative itself.