Justice County, West Virginia

This fictional county in southwestern West Virginia is the setting for most of the novel. It is likely based on Mingo County where some of the real-life events depicted in the novel took place.

Mineral Rights

This is the name for the right to extract valuable minerals from below the surface of a property, and it is a separate form of ownership from surface ownership. Because mineral rights include the right to access the subsurface minerals, coal companies were able to use this form of land ownership to completely force families from their land.

Annadel, West Virginia

This fictional town is a model of racial harmony at a time when the rest of the region is under the Jim Crow Laws of segregation.

The Homeplace

This is the name the Bishop family has for their farm in Kentucky.

Pond Creek

This is the name...