Winnie Davis

“Heath Hardage Lee does a masterful job of introducing the world to Winnie Davis, one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. . . . A terrific story, beautifully told.”—Ellen F. Brown, author of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind: A Bestseller’s Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood

"Heath Lee has produced an engrossing, fast-paced account of one young woman's brush with a celebrity that she was unable to renounce."—Jane Turner Censer, Virginia Magazine

“Heath Hardage Lee has captured thoroughly the tale of the shy, unassuming [Winnie Davis] who was involuntarily thrust into a role as an icon for the defeated South.”—James McGrath Morris, author of Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power

“[Lee’s] recurring use of loss as a unifying theme effectively engages the reader and places Winnie Davis firmly within the context of both her family and the Lost Cause.”—Casey O. Shellman, Journal of Southern History

"Lee makes the most of Davis' brief life and accomplishments by grounding her subject firmly in historical context."—Margaret Flanagan, Booklist

“Can there be any major Civil War story that we haven’t heard? The answer is, yes! Here comes Heath Lee with the fascinating—and surprising—life of Varina Anne ‘Winnie’ Davis. . . . Clear, strong writing brings the history, mores, and manners of the day brilliantly to life.”—Lee Smith, author of Guests on Earth and Fair and Tender Ladies

“Heath Lee has written a beautiful and thoughtful biography of Winnie Davis. . . . This is, in a sense, a biography of America in the aftermath of a civil war as much as it is a captivating story of a young woman who struggled to preserve her individuality when others elevated her to an icon.”—Carol Berkin, author of Civil War Wives and Wondrous Beauty

“Heath Lee tells this tale with simple elegance and matter-of-fact sensitivity. She makes you understand that neither of Winnie Davis’s two worlds—the languor of the Mississippi Gulf Coast or the hustle of downtown New York—would ever bring her peace.”—Guy Gugliotta, author of Freedom’s Cap: The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War

"A fascinating story of a woman who sought to reconcile her own family history with her own beliefs in the virtues of tolerance, Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause is highly recommended especially for personal and public library biography collections."—Midwest Book Review