QUEEN OF COTTON

By Laurie Moore-Moore

Historical Fiction

Publisher: Goat Mountain Press

Publication Date: September 9, 2025

Synopsis

1861: The Civil War is raging. The men have gone to fight, leaving the women behind to cope.  Cotton is the lifeblood of the South.

Sara, a young wife, risks her life and reputation to lead an official Confederate Camel Caravan hundreds of miles across Texas to Matamoros, Mexico. There, cotton can be sold and shipped to the buyer, avoiding the Union blockade and providing critical funds for the South and desperate Dallas cotton growers.

But . . .“It’s not a job for a woman.” The Texas frontier is fraught with danger. The caravan will face fierce Comanche, bandits, extreme weather, internal vandalism, and unforgiving desert. The Mexican cotton market is complex and full of fraudsters. The trail home, carrying gold and armaments, makes the caravan a rich target.

Joining Sara on the adventure are a fascinating mix of real and fictional characters, including a slave— who quotes Machiavelli—and forty-six camels!  Can Sara face peril and uncertainty with grit and unyielding determination?  Can she survive, succeed, and as a result, shed the past that haunts her? Queen of Cotton: Confederate Camel Caravan is a woman’s adventure with roots in true history.  Climb aboard, your camel is waiting.

A stand-alone novel and book two in the Texas Brave & Strong series.

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Review

I still can’t believe camels were in Texas in the 1800s! I have read several books that feature these majestic creatures, and it still astounds me every time.

This novel is set in the 1860s and continues the story of Sara from Gone to Dallas. Sara is happily married to Benjamin and is successfully running a store in Dallas. However, the Civil War is about to begin, and Benjamin is recruited to join the Texas Mounted Rifles. He runs a cotton brokerage company in Dallas, but Sara will have to take it over when he leaves. It was supposed to be a simple task: gather the cotton and ensure it is picked up and transported for sale. However, when the pickup driver notifies Sara that he cannot pick up the cotton, she must find an alternative way to get the cotton to its destination. Enter the camels.

Sara is still a no-nonsense woman who takes no flak from anyone, and there is one woman in town who seems to have it out for Sara. Her quick mind and willingness to work hand-in-hand with those around her make her someone not to be taken for granted. While she doesn’t relish the idea of traveling via camel to Matamoros to sell the cotton, there is no one else since the men have been conscripted into the military. Thankfully, the camels come with camel drovers and some military men to help protect and guide them. Typically, the military wouldn’t have been included; however, they are carrying cotton to be sold for the Confederacy’s coffers to help them with their battle.

This novel spans about nine months, most of which is spent while they are on the road to Mexico to sell the cotton. I could picture the journey down south, the towns they stopped in, and the dangers they encountered. There are not only Indians, but also bandits. There are even some issues within her own crew. Remember, this is the mid-1800s, and men generally do not believe women should be in charge, especially of a crew heading to Mexico. Luckily, most of the men don’t have an issue with her leading, but there will always be that outlier. When they reached Mexico, being a woman was actually an advantage because the wives would often coerce their husbands into helping them be successful on this trip.

I really liked Jonah’s character. He is a slave who is “sold” to Sara so she can take him on the trip to be her protector. She does not think of him as a slave, and they have meaningful conversations about philosophy and such. There are several times when it is a good thing that he was her protector, because they ran into multiple risks on this caravan ride. This trip also gave Jonah a taste of freedom and an idea of what it might be like if slavery were abolished.

This was a delightful and educational novel to read. I found myself going down a few rabbit holes, learning more about the camel caravan, the association with Camp Verde, and how it impacted the Civil War.

We give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Laurie Moore-Moore and her husband, Roger, have been blessed with many adventures–from trekking across India’s Thar Desert on camels (and sleeping in the sand on camel blankets) to repeating marriage vows in a remote Maasi village in Kenya (Laurie’s dowry was one cow and one goat). Laurie’s favorite adventure? As a fifth-generation Texan, Laurie says, “It is discovering more and more Texas history and writing about it!”

After decades in Dallas, Texas, the couple moved to a mountaintop overlooking a lake in the Cherokee Nation. “The cabin is unique,” Laurie says. “There is a nine-foot chainsaw bear in our entry hall. The house was built around it. Never thought I’d own a piece of chainsaw art, much less a nine-foot bear. Life is full of surprises–just like a good historical novel.”

Laurie is a retired entrepreneur who has built and sold multiple businesses and served on the board of directors of an international Corporation.

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