The Code of the South

About the Book

The stories in The Code of the South range from humorous and playful to poignant and serious. Many of them are Southern. But there are no large hairy people named Bubba running around. Instead readers will meet people they might enjoy talking to at a party, people who will delight and surprise. Here are some of the men, women and children in the stories:

An eleven-year-old Southern boy protects the honor of his mother. A widower who honored his wife’s request to be buried in her fur coat finds his grief interrupted by unexpected revelations. A young woman recounts the year her father was in Vietnam and the heartbreaking effects the war had on her life. A man with a litany of complaints about his mother-in-law discovers she has the last word. A young Air Force wife joins her husband in Germany and finds out he is chasing women all over Europe.

In these and ten other stories, the author deftly captures universal struggles: the coming-of-age problems of the young, the complications of love and marriage, the quest to stay vigorous in old age. The stories are offered in language that is precise and accessible.

About the Author

Louise Edge spent her early years in a small town in North Carolina where she excelled in potty training, always colored within the lines, and mentally recorded all the foolishness around her. She attended Meredith College for three years and the University of South Carolina for one year. She did not distinguish herself at either institution of higher learning, but received a B.A. in English. In adulthood she has been an Air Force wife, mother of three, grandmother, good cook, gardener, secretary, English instructor, and writer. She has published nonfiction in The Magazine of the Midlands, The Retired Officer, Good Reading and The Writing Self. Her fiction has appeared in Words of Wisdom, Mobius, and Potato Eyes. Her story “Quarantine” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

She says: “Writing stories is a way of trying to make sense of a crazy world and of putting part of myself on paper. My stories come from my own experiences, anecdotes, newspaper stories, dreams, people I’ve known or heard about, and assorted incidents that made me laugh or cry. Although there is some autobiographical stuff, all the stories are fiction or fictionalized accounts of actual events.”