King Cotton — James Palmer

Breathtaking descriptions of the treacherous sea voyages, and a wonderful portrayal of life in Boston and on a cotton plantation in Carolina, contrasts vividly with a simple life of farming in nineteenth-century Yorkshire. This is complemented by a county-wide manhunt for a dangerous, cunning criminal who will stop at nothing to further his own ends. His criminality grows from petty theft to arson and murder. King Cotton is a book you will find very difficult to put down.