OUTBOUND FROM VIRGINIA
A Novel
by
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It was that child. The nagging doubt about the fidelity of his wife arose—he was sure—from the estrangement he felt whenever he was in sight or hearing of his son, Henry. Something was amiss. It was unnatural for him to have difficulty relating to one of his own children. Certainly it had not occurred in the case of his two older sons or with respect to his daughter. In his mind, the only reasonable explanation for this lack of paternal affinity was the possibility that Henry was not in fact his child. James dwelled on these thoughts as he sipped his brandy. But how could it have occurred? He wondered. He returned to the sideboard to refresh his drink as he began to reflect on the events of the past several years, hoping to resolve the issue one way or another. His illness had not prevented him from having conjugal relations with Emily, but certainly the frequency of such acts had diminished appreciably he reasoned. And the birth interval between this child and Ben—some fourteen years—weighed upon his thoughts. How could their marital union produce a child after so many years? It seemed unlikely to James. Kneeling before the fireplace, James added finely split kindling to the embers. When the kindling caught and burst into flame he added several logs. Soon the fire was burning with an intensity that bathed the room in heat and light. James pushed his chair closer to the fire and allowed the brandy in his glass to be warmed by the nearby flames. The brandy had failed to erase the headache that always seemed to accompany his sleepless nights but it was comforting nevertheless. Emily was still away. She always seemed to be visiting her cousin in Brunswick County, he thought. But her absence did not distress him, nor did the fact she had taken their young son along with her this time. He leaned back in his chair, his feet resting on the small ottoman his children had given him and which seemed to relieve the lower back pain he often suffered after sitting for too long. He reflected on how frequently he and Emily expressed impatience with one another now; how their conversations had a tendency to end in recriminations or silence. His contribution to these episodes was easily explained in his own mind by the persistent discomfort he suffered as a result of his illness. But her attitude was less easily accounted for, he believed. If she had a lover that would explain everything
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About the Book
Twenty-year old Will Porter, along with his brother, is thrown out of the house and disinherited after confronting his father over the father’s mistreatment of Will’s mother. Th eir college education cut short, they strike out on their own, traveling through the South during the 1890’s. Th e sudden and unexpected death of his brother leaves Will to manage by himself as he ponders the future— a future that has him heading west to seek his fortune. His western odyssey takes him from Seattle to Chicago—always in search of the next big opportunity. A member of one of the more prominent families of historic Virginia, Will trades on his gentlemanly Southern manners and his sense of entitlement to carve out a living and start a family of his own. But despite his pedigree, he turns egalitarian and populist as the Great Depression takes its toll. Off ended by what he sees around him, he uses satirical, muckraking poetry to target those with economic and political infl uence. Regardless of the hardships he faces, however, Will maintains a deep sense of optimism, symbolic of a generation that confronted a rapidly changing America.
About the Author
Joseph W. Michels is a novelist who makes his home in San Francisco. Both the present novel and BICYCLE DREAMS, his other historical novel, tell the stories of men who reflect the independence and optimism of a rapidly changing America in the period from 1890 to the 1930’s.