The Brass Button

The Brass Button is an historical adventure that will appeal to readers from ten to fifteen years old. It tells of twelve-year-old Minta Russell and her family who live on a cotton plantation in Alabama at the outbreak of the Civil War. The episode that foreshadowed the drastic change in Minta’s life was her father telling the family that the South was on the brink of war. Over the next five years Minta evolves from a naive child into a responsible adult. She suffers the deaths of her brother and sweetheart, confronts dangerous renegades and deals with an escaped prisoner of war. These dilemmas and her relationship with the family slaves acquaint the reader with this turbulent period and the life of a teenage girl with the courage to survive. This story has been researched for historical accuracy and although Minta was a real person, most of her personal life is based on family folklore and the author’s imagination.