Books like When the splendor falls by Laurie McBain

Leigh Alexandra Travers, heir to the Travers Hill plantation in Virginia, roams the lush bluegrass of her ancestral lands and dreams of a peaceful life. When she meets Neil Braedon—a young man once captured by Comanches and raised in their spiritual world—she discovers a passion that eclipses the expectations of her Southern upbringing. Amid the looming Civil War, Leigh battles to preserve her family's fading legacy while confronting the uncertainty of a future far west. Together, they navigate the challenges of family rivalries, forced marriages, and the brutal realities of the American West, ultimately uniting two great families and redefining duty, honor, and love in a story of epic scope and powerful romance. The novel spans 692 pages and explores themes of slavery, family obligation, war, and identity across a backdrop that includes plantation life, the American West, and the complex tapestry of 19th-century conflicts.

First publish date: 1985