Kate Aylesford, or The Heiress of Sweetwater

Plexus Publishing is proud to present this revival of Charles J. Petersons Kate Aylesford, a long lost historical romance set in Southern New Jersey during the American Revolution. The novel first appeared in 1855, was re-released in 1873 as The Heiress of Sweetwater, and spent the entire 20th century out of print. Today, only a few cherished copies of the 19th century editions are known to be in existence, and, abetted by its rarity, the novel has achieved a legendary reputation in the Pinelands area of South Jersey. In recent decades, area residents have taken to sharing photocopied versions of the book. This has served both to enhance the books mythical status and to preserve a unique fragment of local history. Kate Aylesford features a memorable cast of characters, an imaginative plot, and a compelling mix of romance, adventure, and history. The novel is striking for its exquisite sense of time and place, dramatic action scenes, and authentic characterizations. Kate herself, as novelist Robert A. Bateman describes her in his Foreword to this edition, is an unusually strong and well-educated female protagonist, who holds her ownemotionally and intellectuallyduring a patriarchal time when women were readily considered the inferior sex.