The Purchase Price

In Short

Set during the tense, pre-Civil War era of the mid-nineteenth century, The Purchase Price follows Josephine St. Auban, a wealthy European countess and covert agent devoted to the abolitionist cause. Captured while traveling in the United States, she falls into the custody of Hector Dunwody, a proud southern plantation owner and federal marshal. As political fractures split the nation, their explosive power struggle forces both to choose between their deeply held convictions and their growing, forbidden devotion, capturing the compromises, moral reckonings, and romantic passions of a nation on the brink of war.

The Story

The narrative opens along the Ohio River as the young, noble-born Countess Josephine St. Auban travels under armed guard following her arrest by federal authorities. Half-American and widowed, Josephine has returned to the United States secretly using her European fortune to fund underground abolitionist networks and free-soil colonization schemes. Her captor, a smooth military officer named Carlisle, treats her with courteous respect, but Josephine refuses to give up her right to seek freedom. When political maneuvers transfer her custody, she is handed over to Colonel Hector Dunwody, a powerful Missourian, slaveholder, and United States marshal.

Dunwody brings Josephine to Tallwoods, his secluded estate nestled in the hills of Missouri. Though Dunwody insists he is merely serving his country by detaining a woman whose political machinations threaten national stability, he quickly falls under her spell. At Tallwoods, Josephine faces the bleak reality of southern slavery firsthand and desperately attempts a risky escape down a ivy-covered trellis. Before she can flee the region, northern abolitionists launch a raid on the estate. In the bloody firefight that follows, Dunwody is severely wounded saving his home. Despite her hatred for the institution he represents, Josephine stays by his side, assisting a local doctor through a gruesome operation to save his shattered leg.

As Dunwody slowly recovers, the two engage in passionate debates over freedom, political morality, and human rights. Josephine challenges his defense of the slave system, urging him to see that true honor requires standing for human liberty. Dunwody, fiercely attracted to her beauty and intellect, admits his growing love but struggles against the weight of his heritage and southern political ties. Meanwhile, the conflict surrounding them spreads to the highest corridors of power in Washington. National leaders, fearing European intervention and the rising threat of disunion, attempt to buy off political rivals and suppress the radical movements Josephine ignited.

Josephine travels to the capital, only to learn that her estates in France and Austria have been confiscated by foreign monarchs retaliating against her revolutionary ties. Penniless, stripped of her influence, and abandoned by former political allies, she faces a bitter personal crisis. Yet her sacrifices begin to bear fruit back in Missouri. Dunwody undergoes a profound spiritual and moral transformation. Relinquishing his wealth, his political office, and his social standing, he publicly embraces the anti-slavery cause, braving mob violence and violent reprisals from his former neighbors. Reuniting in the aftermath of his ruined fortunes, Dunwody and Josephine recognize that their shared convictions have eclipsed their past divides, choosing to face an uncertain future together.

How It Unfolds

A captive on the river Josephine St. Auban travels toward Pittsburgh under the watchful guard of Captain Carlisle, offering only conditional parole while insisting she will seize any opportunity to escape. Carlisle warns her that her abolitionist agitation threatens to trigger a devastating national conflict.

Arrival at Tallwoods Transferred into the hands of Hector Dunwody, Josephine is taken to his grand Missouri plantation, Tallwoods. Dunwody attempts to charm his prisoner, but she remains cold and defiant against his authority.

Night of flight and fire Determined to gain her freedom, Josephine climbs down an ivy trellis from her bedroom window just as anti-slavery raiders attack the estate. A violent gun battle erupts, leaving Dunwody shot and critically injured.

An agonizing surgery Josephine sets aside her anger to assist Doctor Jamieson during a primitive, painful operation to remove shattered bone splinters from Dunwody's leg, forming an unexpected bond with her captor.

Debates of heart and mind During his long convalescence, Dunwody confesses his intense romantic passion for Josephine, but she insists she could never love a man who lacks the moral courage to abandon unjust principles.

Diplomacy in the capital In Washington, party leaders and foreign diplomats conspire to defuse the growing sectional crisis, attempting to manipulate political figures while targeting the abolitionist cells linked to Josephine.

The weight of ruin Josephine learns that her vast European estates have been seized by foreign governments, leaving her impoverished and stripped of the financial power behind her crusades.

A turncoat’s redemption Having experienced a deep crisis of faith, Dunwody publicly changes his allegiance to the anti-slavery movement, forfeiting his property, political standing, and safety to stand up for his newfound convictions.

Union in the dawn Facing the wreckage of their old lives, Dunwody and Josephine meet in the morning light, realizing their shared ideals and mutual love have created an unbreakable bond.

The People

Josephine St. Auban A brilliant, widowed countess of mixed American and European heritage, Josephine uses her vast personal wealth and social status to finance secret abolitionist societies. She wants human liberty for the oppressed and refuses to compromise her principles. Though initially held captive, her inner strength and moral clarity gradually transform her captor and force those around her to confront the evils of slavery.

Hector Dunwody A proud Missourian, United States marshal, and owner of the Tallwoods estate. Dunwody initially desires to perform his duty, protect the legal rights of slaveholders, and win Josephine's affections. Entangled between his intense attraction to Josephine and his loyalty to the South, he undergoes a total crisis of conscience, ultimately sacrificing his wealth, political career, and social standing to embrace the anti-slavery cause.

Captain Carlisle A gentlemanly northern military officer who serves as Josephine's first jailer. Carlisle seeks to obey his orders and maintain peace between the factions, balancing his military duties with a genuine, polite respect for his prisoner's intelligence and cause.

Judge Clayton and the Honorable William Jones Southern political figures and companions of Dunwody who represent the old political establishment. They seek to preserve the balance of power and defend southern property rights through traditional compromises and fiery political rhetoric.

Doctor Jamieson A pragmatic frontier physician whose rough bedside manner masks genuine medical skill. He treats Dunwody's severe injuries while offering straightforward wisdom on local affairs.

In Its Own Voice

"Madam," he rejoined, now smiling. "What evil days are these on which I have fallen--I, a mere soldier obeying orders! Not that I have found the orders unpleasant; but it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons!"

Josephine’s initial custodian, Captain Carlisle, half-jestingly complains about the difficulty of guarding a captive who combines feminine charm with sharp political intellect.

"No turncoat could win me--I'd love him more on his own side yonder threefold wall, with his convictions, than on my side without them. I couldn't be bought cheap as that, nor by a cheap man."

During a tense moment at Tallwoods, Josephine sharply rejects Dunwody’s romantic advances, informing him that she will never respect a man who surrenders his personal honor or buys love cheap.

"I shall always call your hair 'dark as the night of disunion and separation'--isn't that what the oriental poet called it?--and your face, to me, always, always, always, will be 'fair as the days of union and delight.'"

Following his political ruin and personal transformation, Dunwody confesses his enduring devotion to Josephine as they look out over the morning horizon.

What It's Really About

The Purchase Price explores the steep cost of moral conviction in a society built upon compromise and human bondage. Beneath its melodramatic plot of romance and political intrigue lies a searching inquiry into what constitutes true ownership—whether of human beings, political power, or another person's heart. The novel contrasts the rigid legalism of the Fugitive Slave Law with the absolute demands of personal conscience. Hough frames the pre-Civil War era not merely as a regional dispute over territory, but as a deep spiritual crisis where freedom cannot be bought or negotiated. Ultimately, the story argues that personal redemption and genuine love require the complete surrender of selfish ambition, forcing individuals to pay the full price for their beliefs.

Why Read It Today

Readers drawn to dramatic historical fiction rooted in nineteenth-century American history will find The Purchase Price a compelling, atmospheric read. Emerson Hough captures the brewing storm of the 1850s with vivid detail, portraying a nation fractured by political bargains, high-stakes card games, secretive Washington diplomacy, and violent border skirmishes. The novel’s pulse lies in the fierce, intellectual friction between its central pair, offering a passionate romance that is continually tested by moral philosophy.

The book does carry the distinct stylistic markers of early twentieth-century popular fiction. Readers should anticipate grandiloquent dialogue, dramatic theatrical turns, and dialect spellings used for regional characters. Furthermore, the text reflects the racial attitudes, archaic terminology, and political romanticism of its publication era, treating historical crises with a broad, melodramatic brush. Yet for those who enjoy sweeping historical romances like those of Sir Walter Scott or classic antebellum dramas, Hough delivers a rich narrative filled with high-minded arguments, vivid frontier landscapes, and an enduring story of moral awakening.

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