Ashley Atkinson

Magnolias and Nightingales: a Romantic, Dramatic, and Historical Saga of Love and War Ashley Atkinson

In the Antebellum South, Hunter Dun Leigh, heir to the largest cotton plantation in Georgia, is the quintessential Southern gentleman. He lives a charmed life on the backs of Negro slaves, as alluring women vie for his love. Although he marries Lady Victoria, an aristocratic English beauty, Hunter longs for Chantal du Valréas, his true love that he cannot marry but will never forget. Adding to the romantic contest is Alezandra Whitfiield, a Virginia blue blood, and Sukie, Hunter's Negro concubine who will do anything to hold him. In the midst of Hunter's privileged existence, the War Between the States erupts, threatening his way of life. Hunter answers the South's call to arms. His own house is divided as his younger brother, Ambrose, a staunch abolitionist, joins the North. When Hunter meets Ambrose on the battlefield of Gettysburg, it is a challenge that epitomizes the country's struggle. As the guns fall silent, Hunter returns to Georgia and a world he no longer recognizes. Now he must begin to rebuild his life and his home. Find out who will win Hunter's heart in Magnolias and Nightingales, an epic love story of passion, betrayal, hate and revenge. Ashley Atkinson grew up in the South. She studied French at the Sorbonne in Paris, and Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. A former Hollywood actress, she lives with her husband in Mexico, where she is writing the sequel to Magnolias and Nightingales. http://sbpra.com/AshleyAtkinson