The Characters

A free man understands independence like a fish understands water.  It's always there, taken for granted, until one day, the lake runs dry.

Prior to the Civil War, Southerners adhered to strict class hierarchy- rules that scoffed at a man's independence. The upper class was compromised of the Planters. Their game was to own more property than the next man, not much different than today, except among their property, you could add a human life.  The middle classes, the professionals and yeoman farmers, had dreams of joining the Planters.  If not that, their aim was to achieve as much independence as possible- steady work, a house, and enough land to take care of your family's needs.  

So independence and property, those were the marks of a man's power.  Each character of Purchase is a player in this struggle for power. And it was understood best by those humans who found themselves the property of another, the slave class, those for whom opportunity had run dry. 

They say you can't judge the people of the past by the morals of the present, but you can make them the villains in a story.  But heroes and villains don't walk the earth- they live on pages.  It's an important distinction to remember.

Purchase is a story inspired by real characters of the past.  Some names reflect actual people living in Arkansas or Texas at the time.  Many characters have loose associations with early settlers of the Southern Frontier.  While their names are unique to Purchase, I'm thankful for the inspiration they provided.