Ryan and I are happy to announce the publication of Hidden History of Natchez, our fifth book of narrative history with the History Press. The book will be published July 19, 2021. After spending the last few years researching and writing books about Texas and Louisiana history, it’s great to be back writing about our home state: Mississippi.
I grew up thinking of Natchez as a small town in Mississippi, kind of out of the way, with lots of beautiful old buildings and a strong connection to the culture of the “Old South.” In 2008, I took a trip to the city with my two grandmothers and mom. We ate fried catfish on the Mississippi River, toured a mansion full of antebellum furniture, and tasted muscadine wine at the Old South Winery. It was my first time visiting Natchez, and I’ll never forget the Mississippi River vista from Under-the-Hill.
Now, after spending the last couple years reading about the city, I have a whole new appreciation for it. Natchez is not only one of the oldest cities in the country, it was also one of the most important for many decades. Ryan and I have found a whole lot of unbelievable stories from the city’s past, going all the way back to when the inheritors of the Mississippian Culture, the Natchez Indians, gambled that they could best the French settlers in armed conflict. Check out the back cover of our book to get a taste of some of the stories we tell:
We hope you will look for Hidden History of Natchez on Amazon or at some of the great local booksellers who carry our books (shout out to Lemuria in Jackson and Pass Christian Books on the Coast). Thank you for your support!
Foreman Starrett 