WINNER OF THE 2017 HOWARD FRANK MOSHER FIRST BOOK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 PLAZA LITERARY PRIZE
Available now!
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 PLAZA LITERARY PRIZE
Available now!
 Click cover to purchase via Amazon
In the Mojave Desert, at the southern end of the isolated Moapa Valley, sat the town of St. Thomas, Nevada. A small community that thrived despite scorching temperatures and scarce water, St. Thomas was home to hardy railroad workers, farmers, shopkeepers, teachers, and a lone auto mechanic named Henry Lord. Born and raised in St. Thomas, Lord lived in a small home beside his garage with his son, Thomas, his daughter-in-law, Ellen, and his grandson, "Little" Henry. All lived happily until the stroke of a pen by President Coolidge authorizing the construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam. Within a decade, more than 250 square miles of desert floor would become flooded by the waters of the Colorado River, and St. Thomas would be no more. In the early 1930s, the federal government began buying out the residents of St. Thomas, yet the hardheaded Henry Lord, believing the water would never reach his home, refused to sell. It was a mistake that would cost him―and his family―dearly. Lords of St. Thomas details the tragedies and conflicts endured by a family fighting an unwinnable battle, and their hectic and terrifying escape from the flood waters that finally surge across the threshold of their front door. Surprisingly, it also shows that, sometimes, you can go home again, as Little Henry returns to St. Thomas 60 years later, after Lake Mead recedes, to retrieve a treasure he left behind―and to fulfill a promise he made as a child. |
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Praise for Lords of St. Thomas
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"Jackson Ellis' LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is the dramatic story of the beleaguered Lord family, forced off their land by the creation of Lake Mead. At the heart of the book are the patriarch Henry Lord, who refuses to leave his doomed home, and town, and his young grandson and namesake. LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is both a terrific coming-of-age story and an exact and haunting evocation of a bygone time and place. What's more, it's a great read. I loved every page." ―Howard Frank Mosher, author of Where the Rivers Flow North, Disappearances, and Points North
"Jackson Ellis' totally transporting coming-of-age tale takes you to a world or scorching sun, unstoppable storms, and acutely observed heartache. LORDS OF ST. THOMAS manages to exist on two planes, succeeding both as compelling historical fiction about one man's steadfast refusal to give in to the rising tide of modernity, and as a beautifully elegiac tribute to lives (and a way of life) now lost. A fascinating, fast-paced, and frequently lovely examination of human struggle in the face of constant change." ―Jeremy Robert Johnson, author of Entropy in Bloom and Skullcrack City
"With LORDS OF ST. THOMAS, Jackson Ellis has written a book that is part historic, part environmental, part familial, and always compelling. Ellis draws us deep into the lives of the Lord family as they face the loss of their home, their community, their way of life, and even themselves to the rising waters of Lake Mead. And we readers are sucked along as the family wrestles with the decision to leave or stay while fighting to survive. It's a story that forces the reader to keep reading, one page after the next, to see what becomes of historic St. Thomas -- and what becomes of the Lords." ―Sean Prentiss, author of Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is a timely, tender, thought-provoking family saga about the importance of keeping promises -- no matter how long they take to fulfill. With a playful touch, Jackson Ellis has gifted us with a daring story rich in premise and intrigue with just the right amount of suspense and pathos." ―Nathaniel G. Moore, author of Savage 1986-2011 and Jettison
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS masterfully couples a historic event with a classic coming of age story... [offering] a glimpse into the past and a glimmer of hope for the future." ―Midwest Book Review
Beautifully written, LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is the story of tragedies leading to subsequent tragedies [and] a thoughtful portrayal of the human consequences of major environmental changes." ―Historical Novel Society
"A thrilling story where readers measure how much they value their rights and how far they're willing to fight for them... Ellis does a compelling job of showing the Lord family's nearly noble hopelessness in their fight to change a fait accompli, without capitulating to sentimentality. This tragic note gives a particular, Steinbeckian vividness to the familiar templates of multigenerational family tale (the story of the Lords) and the American coming-of-age narrative (the story of Little Henry)." ―New England Review of Books
"A sparsely eloquent, elegiac novel." ―Seven Days
"A great story and one that I found hard to put down, reading it from cover to cover during a quiet rainy evening. Ellis vividly evokes place and person in a style that Mosher himself admired." ―Manchester Journal
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is gripping and page-turning... Ellis manages to mix historic fiction with a beautifully written narrative." ―Newfound
"A heartwarming story about family and home." ―Nightcap Books
"Jackson Ellis' totally transporting coming-of-age tale takes you to a world or scorching sun, unstoppable storms, and acutely observed heartache. LORDS OF ST. THOMAS manages to exist on two planes, succeeding both as compelling historical fiction about one man's steadfast refusal to give in to the rising tide of modernity, and as a beautifully elegiac tribute to lives (and a way of life) now lost. A fascinating, fast-paced, and frequently lovely examination of human struggle in the face of constant change." ―Jeremy Robert Johnson, author of Entropy in Bloom and Skullcrack City
"With LORDS OF ST. THOMAS, Jackson Ellis has written a book that is part historic, part environmental, part familial, and always compelling. Ellis draws us deep into the lives of the Lord family as they face the loss of their home, their community, their way of life, and even themselves to the rising waters of Lake Mead. And we readers are sucked along as the family wrestles with the decision to leave or stay while fighting to survive. It's a story that forces the reader to keep reading, one page after the next, to see what becomes of historic St. Thomas -- and what becomes of the Lords." ―Sean Prentiss, author of Finding Abbey: The Search for Edward Abbey and His Hidden Desert Grave
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is a timely, tender, thought-provoking family saga about the importance of keeping promises -- no matter how long they take to fulfill. With a playful touch, Jackson Ellis has gifted us with a daring story rich in premise and intrigue with just the right amount of suspense and pathos." ―Nathaniel G. Moore, author of Savage 1986-2011 and Jettison
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS masterfully couples a historic event with a classic coming of age story... [offering] a glimpse into the past and a glimmer of hope for the future." ―Midwest Book Review
Beautifully written, LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is the story of tragedies leading to subsequent tragedies [and] a thoughtful portrayal of the human consequences of major environmental changes." ―Historical Novel Society
"A thrilling story where readers measure how much they value their rights and how far they're willing to fight for them... Ellis does a compelling job of showing the Lord family's nearly noble hopelessness in their fight to change a fait accompli, without capitulating to sentimentality. This tragic note gives a particular, Steinbeckian vividness to the familiar templates of multigenerational family tale (the story of the Lords) and the American coming-of-age narrative (the story of Little Henry)." ―New England Review of Books
"A sparsely eloquent, elegiac novel." ―Seven Days
"A great story and one that I found hard to put down, reading it from cover to cover during a quiet rainy evening. Ellis vividly evokes place and person in a style that Mosher himself admired." ―Manchester Journal
"LORDS OF ST. THOMAS is gripping and page-turning... Ellis manages to mix historic fiction with a beautifully written narrative." ―Newfound
"A heartwarming story about family and home." ―Nightcap Books
