The Rice Kingdom

A love that cannot be stopped by an evil king, slaving pirates, or all the oceans of the world.On the island of Madagascar, a royal princess and her sworn protector flee when their forbidden bond is discovered. Torn apart by betrayal, war, and the brutal machinery of the slave trade, they are carried across continents and seas, each believing the other lost to history.Years later, fate reunites them in Charles Towne in the young Carolina colony.They do not arrive empty handed.They carry with them the sacred knowledge of rice cultivation, an agricultural technology perfected in Africa that the colonists have failed to master. What begins as survival becomes transformation as their expertise sparks a powerful new industry in the infant colony.Yet prosperity comes with a terrible cost.In bringing the secret of rice, they also usher in a system of labor and suffering that will reshape America in ways no one could have imagined.A sweeping and meticulously researched historical epic, The Rice Kingdom reveals the untold story of love, survival, and the African technology that changed the course of a nation.