A Pagan of the Hills

In Short

Set in the rugged, storm-battered hills of Kentucky, this novel follows Alexander McGivins, a fierce and self-reliant woman who assumes a man’s role to manage her father’s timber business. When a flood brings a motley crew of laborers and dangerous schemers into their secluded world, Alexander must outwit those who seek to exploit her or her father’s wealth. As she navigates shifting loyalties and the unwanted attentions of competing men, she battles to preserve her autonomy and protect her family’s legacy, ultimately defining love on her own uncompromising terms.

The Story

The narrative begins during a severe winter thaw that threatens to destroy the timber operations of the McGivins family. Alexander, a woman of remarkable strength and unconventional spirit who lives by a code of masculine action, takes charge when her father is incapacitated. Her efficiency and beauty draw the attention of local timber buyer Will Brent and a charismatic but predatory man named Jack Halloway. As the river rises, turning the hills into a chaotic theater of flood, fire, and shifting moralities, Alexander becomes the target of a conspiracy.

After a series of violent incidents—including a tavern fire set by a drunken laborer—Alexander finds herself targeted by outlaws who hope to rob her of the payment for her father’s logs. She is forced to flee into the treacherous high country, using her superior knowledge of the woods to evade her pursuers. Along the way, she relies on the loyalty of a troubled, volatile man named Bud Sellers, whose periodic struggles with alcoholism make him both a devoted protector and a tragic liability.

Throughout her ordeal, Alexander rejects the domestic expectations of her community. She holds a power of attorney for her father, demands to be treated with the same business respect as any man, and repeatedly rebuffs the manipulative overtures of Jack Halloway. While Halloway attempts to use his charm and physical presence to bend her to his will, she remains observant, eventually discovering that he is a deceiver hiding behind a facade of mountain ruggedness.

The climax arrives when Alexander, having successfully outmaneuvered her enemies and protected the cash proceeds of her trade, confronts the social and personal pressures of her environment. She finds an unlikely partner in Jerry O'Keefe, a man who matches her own resilience and dares to look past her aggressive defenses. After a series of tense encounters and the resolution of the outlaws’ threats, Alexander marries Jerry. She maintains her independence—insisting on keeping her own name—and proves to her past suitors that she is not a prize to be won, but a woman who commands her own fate.

How It Unfolds

The winter thaw Brent arrives in the Kentucky hills and encounters the legend of Alexander, discovering that the "man" the locals talk about is a woman who works, dresses, and acts with singular, unashamed authority.

The rising flood As the river turns into a dangerous torrent, the community is forced together in a cramped, tense tavern, where the arrival of rough laborers creates a volatile environment of shifting threats and hidden agendas.

The flight to the hills When a plot to steal the proceeds of her timber sale comes to light, Alexander is forced to disappear into the treacherous terrain, turning the wilderness into a strategic advantage against her pursuers.

The reckoning After successfully protecting her father’s money and outwitting the conspirators, Alexander returns to her farm to confront her suitors, ultimately choosing a partner who respects her autonomy.

The final correspondence Months later, an unsuspecting Halloway receives a letter in New York revealing his failure to manipulate Alexander, confirming that she has forged a new life on her own terms.

The People

Alexander McGivins is the central figure, an "Amazon" of the hills who rejects the "cramp of stays" and domesticity for a life of physical labor and business management. Her primary goal is the survival of her family’s farm, but she must constantly fight off the patronizing and predatory attitudes of the men surrounding her.

Will Brent is a timber buyer from "down-below" who serves as an outsider, initially fascinated by the "little and terrible keyholes of Heaven and Hell" that the mountains represent. He is the first to recognize Alexander’s worth, though he remains a somewhat ineffective observer of the elemental forces she wields.

Jack Halloway acts as the primary antagonist, a man of "magnificent chest" and manipulative charm. He assumes his masculinity gives him a natural right to possess Alexander, failing to realize that her perception is sharp enough to see through his layers of deceit.

Bud Sellers is a "kindly soul" whose devotion to Alexander is the guiding force of his life. His struggle with alcoholism makes him a tragic figure, one who sacrifices his own well-being to serve her, eventually finding peace in the knowledge that he kept his promises.

Jerry O'Keefe is the man who finally earns Alexander’s affection. He possesses an "unfalterin' nerve" and the ability to laugh in the face of her fury, successfully proving that he can stand beside her without needing to dominate her.

In Its Own Voice

"Alexander was borned female but she's done lived a plum he-life, ever since."

A local mountaineer explains to an outsider why the woman he is asking about is known by such an unusual name.

"A flannel shirt, open on a splendidly rounded throat, emphasized shoulders that fell straight and, for a woman unusually broad, though not too broad for grace."

The narrator describes Alexander’s physical appearance as she prepares to lead a group of men during a perilous flood.

"I wants ter show my paw cash money. Ef he 'lows I'm man enough ter do his business thet's enough, hain't it?"

Alexander firmly rejects a bank check in favor of physical currency, asserting her right to represent her father’s interests.

What It's Really About

The book explores the tension between tradition and the individual’s desire for self-determination. At its core, it is a study of gendered expectations in an isolated, harsh environment, where the "benighted" nature of the hills serves as a crucible for character. Alexander’s struggle is not merely with outlaws or the elements, but with the pervasive, quiet belief that a woman’s life is inherently subordinate to the men around her. The narrative argues that true strength is found in the refusal to be categorized; Alexander claims her identity as a woman who can do "man’s work" while remaining deeply feminine in her own fastidious, intelligent way.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy atmospheric, period-specific fiction will find much to admire in this depiction of the early 20th-century Kentucky mountains. It reads like a folk-myth, where the weather, the river, and the landscape are as much characters as the people themselves. The prose captures a specific, vanishing dialect, which adds a layer of authenticity to the dialogue but may require some patience to decode.

Modern readers might find the period attitudes toward gender and the "primitive" portrayal of mountain life jarring. The book is very much a product of its time, romanticizing the "wildness" of its subjects while occasionally leaning into stereotypes about Appalachian life. However, Alexander herself remains a compellingly modern figure; her insistence on keeping her own name and her cold, calculated rejection of men who try to "fleece" her feel remarkably ahead of the era. If you are interested in a story that values self-reliance and the raw, dangerous beauty of the American frontier, you will find this a haunting, memorable read. It stays with you not just for its dramatic plot, but for the image of its protagonist, standing on a bluff with a rifle, entirely unconcerned with the opinions of those who think she should be anything other than exactly who she is.