With the turbulent historical Midwest as a backdrop, Mary Glickman’s characters fight for love, freedom, and a home in Marching to Zion, the author’s newest novel. The story is set predominantly in East St. Louis during the period between World War I and World War II.
During the early twentieth century, East St. Louis was overwhelmed by devastating hardships. In Marching to Zion, Magnus Bailey and Minnie Fishbein are an interracial St. Louis couple whose love is forbidden, their future jeopardized by a staggering list of serious obstacles:
Riots: The East St. Louis Riot of 1917 erupted following a rumor that a black man had murdered a white man. Drive-by shootings, beatings, and arson were some of the crimes committed against the black community.
Corruption: The government was notoriously crooked. Illegal businesses such as brothels, casinos, and saloons would be shut down by police to maintain appearances, only to reopen again shortly thereafter. Bribes given to the authorities helped these shady enterprises to sustain their momentum.
Natural Disasters: The Great Flood of 1927 was the worst flood in the history of the United States. The overflowing Mississippi River damaged twenty-three thousand square miles of land.
Discrimination: Following the Great Flood, racial tensions reached a peak. Many of the black workers whose help was enlisted to reverse the flood damage suffered astonishing mistreatment, forced to live in makeshift camps under terrible conditions to rebuild the levees. In what was known as the Great Migration, between ten and twelve thousand African Americans left the South for East St. Louis between 1916 and 1917, escaping the ruined land around the Mississippi River. The sudden influx of African American residents and workers made the white population hostile.
Can Minnie and Magnus’s relationship stand up to these obstacles?
By the talented author of Home in the Morning and One More River, Marching to Zion is a compelling Southern Jewish novel that examines the price of love. Dive into the world of Marching to Zion, available as an ebook tomorrow: http://www.openroadmedia.com/marching-to-zion.