Geraldine Brooks Comes to Natchez: Horse, History, and the People Who Inspired It
NATCHEZ READS 2025 WITH GERALDINE BROOKS
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Geraldine Brooks visits Natchez for a special evening on Horse, the novel inspired by Lexington’s legacy and real figures from local history. Book signing to follow.
The Natchez Reads 2025 series concludes this September with a literary event that brings Pulitzer Prize–winning author Geraldine Brooks to Natchez. On Friday, September 12, 2025, readers and history lovers alike will gather at The Grand Hotel for an evening conversation with Ms. Brooks, whose acclaimed novel Horse has captured hearts across the country—and holds special resonance here in Natchez.
Set across three centuries, Horse explores the extraordinary story of Lexington, a real 19th-century racehorse whose legacy continues to echo through American art, science, and social history. Many scenes in the novel take place in and around Natchez, including several references to William Johnson, the free man of color known as the “Barber of Natchez.” Johnson’s life and diary—still preserved today—offer a rare and vital window into antebellum society, and readers of Horse will find Johnson’s presence woven into the narrative with care and historical grounding.
Visitors intrigued by his story can explore the William Johnson House Museum at 210 State Street. This free, National Park Service site includes artifacts, documents, and exhibits about Johnson’s life and family. It's a quiet but powerful stop for anyone interested in understanding the deeper context of the characters who appear in Brooks’s novel.
Geraldine Brooks will speak at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 12, at The Grand Hotel (111 North Broadway Street). Admission is free and open to the public. A small book sale will be available at the event featuring Ms. Brooks’s works, including Horse, Caleb’s Crossing, March, People of the Book, and her latest release, Memorial Days. She is expected to be available to sign books following the event.
The Natchez Reads 2025 program is a collaboration between Natchez National Historical Park and the Historic Natchez Foundation, designed to engage the public in a shared reading experience that celebrates both literature and local history. This year’s featured book, Horse, has made that mission especially meaningful for Natchez. In the early 1850s, the racehorse Lexington was trained right here—on the grounds of Fatherland Plantation, then owned by planter and politician Adam Lewis Bingaman. That very land is now preserved as the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, a state historic site open to visitors and home to one of the most important Indigenous archaeological sites in Mississippi.
Whether you’re just discovering Horse or have followed each event in the Natchez Reads 2025 series, this evening with Geraldine Brooks offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from the author, learn about the research behind the story, and reflect on the real people and places that inspired her work.
At Beaumont House, we’ve enjoyed sharing this summer of storytelling with our readers and guests—both local and from afar. We hope the conversations sparked by this series continue to grow, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the people, history, and literature that define Natchez.
