Mullane Literary Associates
The Cherokee Rose by Tiya Miles
- Lambda Literary Award nominee
- Named by the Georgia Center for the Book as one of the
“Books All Georgians Should Read”
Praise for Tiya Miles’s The Cherokee Rose
“A buried, early-19th-century diary, the fragrance of wild white roses and the rustling of river-cane reeds bring to life this refreshing debut novel by Miles, a winner of a MacArthur Fellowship....An enchanting examination of bloodlines, legacy and the myriad branches of a diverse family tree.”
Kirkus
“A superbly crafted gem of an historical novel, The Cherokee Rose documents Tiya Miles as a master of the storytelling craft. Deftly drawn and memorable characters embedded in a plot of surprising twists and turns, The Cherokee Rose is a compelling read from beginning to end—and one that will linger in the mind long after the novel is finished and set back upon the shelf....Very highly recommended.”
Midwest Book Review
“Vibrantly imagines a complex and nuanced community within the Cherokee Nation where the lives of African Americans and Native Americans are interwoven in surprising and forgotten ways. But this is far more than historical fiction; it is a provocative and charming exploration of how one twenty-first-century original, Cheyenne, reframes the past by the creation of a home meant to be shared....a place of welcome, respite, and historical encounter.”
Alice Randall, author of The Wind Done Gone
“Poignant and essential storytelling...a book that, with a deft hand, illuminates a little-known, yet vitally important, facet of a past we all share. A wonderful read.”
Jason Mott, New York Times best-selling author of The Returned
“With both modern-day and historical characters equally believable in their desires and life journeys, this novel tells a little-known story that is complex and captivating.”
Foreword Reviews
“With the character arcs and the exploration of an often-overlooked area of history...this is a solid choice for book clubs that savor meaty discussions.”
Library Journal
“A great story, a skillfully-woven mystery about the way history unfolds in individual lives....The novel’s characters, beautifully intertwined, teach us that disenfranchising community members always means a loss of our own selves, an erosion of the very things that make us tribal. This must-read goes a long way toward debunking any notions that disenfranchisement is benevolent or historically justifiable in a book that you can’t set down and don’t want to ever end.”
Craig Womack, Professor of English, Emory University, and author of Red on Red
“This well-researched, intriguing historical novel from MacArthur fellow Miles delves into the little-known story of the prosperous Cherokee slaveholders in the antebellum South....Readers will be taken with the way this novel blends past and present....a wrenching yet enlightening saga.”
Publishers Weekly, a PW Book of the Week
“Peopled with richly conceived characters, driven by compelling human dramas that cross cultures and ages, and enlivened by graceful and evocative prose, this debut novel is a provocative and intimate study of the tangled histories and contemporary legacies of slaveholding in Indian country. A courageous and compassionate work, The Cherokee Rose asks hard questions about race, power, and belonging and reminds us of the fierce love that centers the quest for justice. We need more novels like this.”
Daniel Heath Justice, author of Kynship: The Way of Thorn and Thunder Trilogy and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Literature and Expressive Culture, University of British Columbia.
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