You’ve probably heard of the Great Migration—the massive, desperate movement of Black families fleeing the Jim Crow South for the promise of Northern factories. But there is a piece of the story we usually skip. Before the cities, before the concrete, there were people who didn't want to leave the soil. They just wanted soil they actually owned.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez has a way of finding these ghosts. Her latest novel, Happy Land, centers on a piece of history that sounds, honestly, like a fever dream or a fairytale. It’s about a real-life "Kingdom" established by freedpeople in the mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina. No, not a metaphor. A literal kingdom with a King, a Queen, and a communal treasury.
The Kingdom of the Happy Land is Real
When you pick up Happy Land, the first thing you have to wrap your head around is that the "Kingdom of the Happy Land" isn't a fantasy setting. It existed. Around 1873, a group of about fifty formerly enslaved people led by a man named William Montgomery (the first "King") and a woman named Luella (the "Queen") trekked from Cross Anchor, South Carolina, into the Blue Ridge Mountains.
They weren't just looking for a place to hide. They were looking for sovereignty. They settled near what is now Hendersonville, NC, and Zirconia, NC. They bought land—eventually hundreds of acres—and created a self-sustaining society that lasted for decades.
They had a school.
They had a chapel.
They even had an "economic engine" in the form of Happy Land Liniment, a medicinal herbal remedy they sold to locals.
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Perkins-Valdez uses a dual-timeline structure to bridge the gap between this forgotten utopia and our messy present. We follow Nikki Lovejoy-Berry, a D.C. real estate agent who is, frankly, struggling. She’s nearly 40, disconnected from her mother, and barely knows her grandmother, Mother Rita. When Rita calls her home to the North Carolina mountains, Nikki stumbles into a history she thought was impossible.
Why the "Royalty" Tag Matters
Some people get hung up on the terms "King" and "Queen." It feels... un-American? Or maybe just theatrical? But in the book, and in the history it's based on, these titles were a radical act of reclamation.
If the world tells you that you are property, calling yourself a Queen is the ultimate middle finger to the status quo. Luella, the protagonist of the 19th-century chapters, isn't some distant monarch on a gold throne. She’s a woman who works the gardens, heals the sick, and makes impossible choices to keep her people fed.
The novel doesn't shy away from the friction, either. William Montgomery, the King, is complicated. He’s ambitious and visionary, but he’s also flawed—sometimes physically and verbally abusive toward Luella. It’s a raw look at how the trauma of enslavement doesn't just vanish because you’ve crossed a state line or put on a "crown."
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The Battle for the Soil
The modern-day plot with Nikki is where the stakes get uncomfortably real. It deals with something called heirs’ property.
Basically, this is a legal loophole that has caused Black families to lose millions of acres of land over the last century. If a person dies without a will, their land is passed down to all their heirs as a collective. This sounds fair, but it makes the land incredibly vulnerable to predatory developers. If one distant cousin sells their tiny "share" to a developer, that developer can force a sale of the entire property.
In Happy Land, Mother Rita is facing eviction. The very land that was once a sovereign kingdom is being snatched away by modern legal technicalities.
Nikki has to stop being just a "real estate agent" and start being a steward of her own bloodline. It’s a race against time, but it’s also a race against her own skepticism. She starts the book thinking her grandmother’s stories are just tall tales. She ends it realizing that her identity is literally rooted in the dirt she’s standing on.
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What Dolen Perkins-Valdez Gets Right
If you read her previous hit, Take My Hand, you know Perkins-Valdez is a master of the "uncomfortable truth." She doesn't do "historical fluff."
- The Nuance of Choice: Luella’s relationship with Robert (William’s brother) is scandalous and messy. It’s a triangle that shouldn't work, but it highlights how these people were trying to redefine "family" on their own terms.
- The Economic Reality: The Kingdom didn't fail because they weren't "hardworking." They were brilliant. They failed—or rather, faded—because the world around them (the railroads, the industrialization, the tax laws) was designed to squeeze them out.
- The Rural Black Experience: We often think of Black history as either "Slavery in the South" or "Jazz in the City." This book reminds us that there is a deep, spiritual connection to the Appalachian wilderness that belongs to Black history too.
How to Reclaim Your Own History
Reading Happy Land isn't just about finishing a 368-page novel. It’s a nudge to look at your own family tree before the roots rot. If you’re feeling inspired by Nikki’s journey, here is how you actually start digging:
- Don’t just trust the Census. Perkins-Valdez has mentioned in interviews that the US Census is often incomplete for Black families. Look at Federal Slave Schedules (pre-1870) and Freedmen's Bureau contracts.
- Check Church Records. Early Black churches were meticulous record-keepers. Many of these are now being digitized.
- Voter Registration Records. Even during Reconstruction, many freedmen registered to vote before the hammer of Jim Crow came down. These lists are goldmines for names.
- Secure Your Land. If you have family property that has been passed down without a clear deed or will, get a lawyer now. Heirs’ property is a "quiet" crisis that doesn't stop until the land is gone.
Happy Land is a heavy read, but it’s a necessary one. It’s about the difference between being "free" on paper and being "sovereign" in your soul. Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction or just someone trying to figure out where you came from, this story is a reminder that some kingdoms don't have walls—they have roots.
To start your own search, visit the National Archives or use tools like FamilySearch to look specifically for Freedmen’s Bureau records in the Carolinas.