The American Queen

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 258 ratings

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Last update: 01-04-2025


About this item

AS SEEN ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA: GMA 15 New Books to Read | 2024 American Fiction Award WINNER for African American Fiction AND Historical Fiction

"Miller brings to enthralling life a hidden gem in American history." --Publishers Weekly

There is only one known queen who truly ruled a kingdom on American soil. Meet the queen of Happy Land.

Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 - 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life.

Over the twenty-four years she was enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there's no room in her heart for love, not even for the honorable Reverend William, whom she likes and respects enough to marry.

But when William finally listens to Louella's pleas and leads the formerly enslaved people off the plantation, Louella begins to replace her hate with hope. Hope that they will find a place where they can live free from fear. Hope that despite her many unanswered prayers, she can learn to trust for new miracles.

Soon, William and Louella become the appointed king and queen of their self-proclaimed Kingdom of the Happy Land. And though they are still surrounded by opposition, they continue to share a message of joy and goodness--and fight for the freedom and dignity of all.

The American Queen weaves together themes of love, hate, hope, trust, and resilience in the face of great turmoil. As you listen, you will be transported to a pivotal period in American history, where oppressed people become extraordinary heroes.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Touching tale of heroism, sacrifice, and faith
    Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2024
    I have enjoyed all of Vanessa Miller's books and this one being no exception to that rule. The writing was good and the flow was exceptional. Unfortunately, this book just proves that life as an African American is and always will be one of struggle as racism, sexism, and capitalism rule this America we proclaim to be the land of the free.
  • Cheryl M.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly written
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
    A preacher I know once said “everything we need is right here in the house.” This was certainly true of the residents of Happy Land, who built their kingdom and raised/sold their goods using the god-given tools they had; their brains and their own hands.

    TOP TAKEAWAYS ????

    ???????? All residents pitched in with their unique talents, gifts and abilities to make Happy Land a home.

    ???????? Ms. Miller showed both viewpoints of emancipation, taken from the slave master and the enslaved.

    ???????? Queen Louella’s leadership reminded me of Harriet Tubman.

    ???????? The first thing the people did when they became free was take BACK their own names.

    ???????? The biblical references in this story were so inspiring.

    FAVORITE QUOTE:

    “Start believing for good things, even before you see them.” Words to live by.
  • Sheila Capers
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging Story
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
    Vanessa Miller has created a masterpiece!

    The American Queen is a skillfully written story about the lives, the thoughts, and the experiences of the enslaved during the years immediately following the Civil War. It is against this backdrop that we meet the strong willed, bitter, yet sensitive, enslaved young girl named Luella.

    The time frame of this book made me reluctant to read it. I felt that it would be too sad for me to bear. However, because it was a Vanessa Miller book I decided to read it. I began reading it and could not put it down. There was loving, wrenching sadness, and delayed answers to prayer. The pages turned automatically for me. That’s how engaging the story was for me.

    Throughout this book Vanessa Miller skillfully shows us Luella’s faith in God increase, her bitterness diminishes, and the attributes good leaders need develop. We see God use her iron will and sensitivity to make her the great leader she became.

    I laughed, I cried, I “bit my nails”. Yes, this is truly one of Vanessa Miller’s great books!
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read
    Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2024
    The only Queen who ruled on American Soil!

    Wow! You read it correctly. This was my first reaction to The American Queen.

    Talk about Historical Fiction at its finest. This story informs, educates, and captivates your attention from the beginning to the end as you learn about Queen Louella and the people of the Happy Land.

    This is truly a wow factor read with all the feels. I literally had to sit with my thoughts and let them simmer while savoring the moments.

    The American Queen is totally book hangover-worthy and worth every bit of the hype. It is like Good Morning America quoted in their 15 New Books to Read for the New Year, “This Powerful story must be told and retold,” indeed. This is definitely a favorite of 2024. It is a story that I want to tell everybody to read, and I have been doing just that.
  • Waletta Mason Dunn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a page turner!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2024
    American Queen is definitely a page turner! I felt like I was a part of the story. Louella held a special place in my heart from beginning to end. I recommend you read this book! You need to read this book!
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Slow read, but fascinating history
    Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024
    I really enjoyed learning from this historically inspired novel. This was not a page turner for me, and at points I felt like I needed an emotional pause between reading the accounts of some of the challenges the characters endured; but I was actively engaged in the story, and really intrigued by the true history of former slaves establishing a socialist-type kingdom in the United States.

    I think this would be an excellent choice for a book club as there is so much potential for lively discussion, and one or two chapters a week would be a great pace.
  • A. W. Thompson
    3.0 out of 5 stars A story that needed telling
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
    I was fascinated to learn about the Kingdom of Happy Land, something I'd never heard of in any post-emancipation Black history. It reminds me a little of the many utopian societies founded in the 19th century by white people, but Happy Land sermed far closer to that ideal and served a far greater purpose for people who were freed but still left both oppressed and dispossessed.

    It's a great story and I think the author created a strong narrative thread, although her inexperience with historical fiction does show. The emphasis on religious inspiration seems true to the characters, but as best I can describe it, the prose, attitudes, dialogue and descriptions seemed more like the contemporary inspirational fiction that the author specializes in. The physical world around the characters seemed generic, lacking in detail and texture.

    The best historical novels are immersive -- you feel like you've been dropped into a world completely different from yours, with people who think and speak quite differently. Here, I never quite did. For example, a 19th-century 5-year-old would not likely be jumping on his mother's bed shouting "Breakfast, Mommy!". Childhood as we know it did not yet exist; even very young children were expected to be little adults -- work hard, show self-control, and be deferential to elders. Some of the language sounded way more 21st century than Reconstruction, which took me out of the story.

    However, I'm glad I read it; I'm glad the author chose to tell this remarkable, unknown story of formerly enslaved people building the world they had been robbed of by white people who saw them as far less than human. My only wish would have been for Ms. Miller to have teamed up with a co-author more experienced in the genre of in-depth historical fiction of this era.

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