Adelsverein: The Sowing is Volume 2 of the Adelsverein Trilogy. Following the fortunes of 19th century German settlers who came to Texas seeking land and political freedom.

 

“Vati” Steinmetz and his children have prospered since they arrived in America. His oldest daughter Magda has married Carl Becker, born him children and helped him biold a happy life as a rancher in the beautiful valley of the Guadalupe River. Vati’s son-in-law Hansi Richter has become a successful farmer and his son Johann has returned home from Germany after years of studying to become a doctor.

But ideals, friendship and cruel circumstance collide as the Civil War comes to the Hill Country. Carl Becker and Hansi Richter face mortal danger from the “hanging band’, a pro-Confederate lynch mob seeking to permanently silence the voices of Union sympathizers. Vati’s beautiful daughter Rosalie is in love with a man who intends to serve in the Confederate Army! Meanwhile, Johann and his twin brother Friedrich are drawn to serve in the war – but on opposite sides!

Adelsverein – The Sowing - continues the epic story of how one family of German immigrants became American, through the wrenching tragedy of the Civil War!

What others are saying...

I was amazed with the accuracy of the detail . . . very much in line with everything that I had ever learned not only in the history books but the legends and lore of the families and their ancestors. Putting meat on the bones of history and describing the effects of persons and their actions on one another completely overwhelmed me.

—Kenn Knopp, German Heritage Foundation, Fredericksburg, Texas

… a wonderfully complete picture of an era, and unforgettable memories of the engaging and sturdy families whose type formed the backbone of this nation … the great strength of the trilogy is that we experience those events not on the battlefield or in distant places, but on the home front. … To the Steinmetz family the news was minimal and late, and there were no guarantees of anything: disaster was an ever-present possibility. Random events could (and did) upset everything at any time. No matter what, the housework had to be done; the animals and crops had to be tended, and the family had to be raised. Such is life, and such is the power of literature. The author's historical accuracy is meticulous, her writing clean and true: she brings an entire era to marvelous life. If you don't know the Texas hill country, you will after you read The Adelsverein Trilogy. I thought I knew it, but the Texas hill country will never look the same to me now.

—Dr. Al Past, PODBRAM.com

… A superb ability to describe the natural world that will have the reader sharing the wonder of discovery with the Steinmetz family. As well as the beauty of new found lands the reader will share the warmth of new love, the horror of a massacre, and the heartbreak of the death of loved ones – most of which are the result of disease.

—Western Fiction Review

A moving story of coming to America and making one's mark, while retaining one's heritage…

—Midwest Book Reviews

Hayes has taken a relatively obscure piece of Texan history and created an interesting family to tell its story.… The saga is rich in detail from the hellish nightmare of the sea journey to the beauty of the hill country.

—Beth Cummings, Armchair Interviews