The Realms of Oblivion - by Andrew C Ross (Paperback)

About the Book

An intimate look at the Davies family plantation museum and the perpetuation of myths about slavery

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Tennessee History Book Award (Tennessee Historical Society and Tennessee Historical Commission), 2024

The Realms of Oblivion explores the complexities involved in reconciling competing versions of history, channeled through Davies Manor, a historic site near Memphis that once centered a wealthy slave-owning family's sprawling cotton plantation. Interrogating the forces of memorialization that often go unquestioned in the stories we believe about ourselves and our communities, this book simultaneously tells an informative and engrossing bottom-up history--of the Davies family, of the Black families they enslaved and exploited across generations, and of Memphis and Shelby County--while challenging readers to consider just what upholds the survival of that history into the present day.

Written in an engaging and critical style, The Realms of Oblivion is grounded in a rich source base, ranging from nineteenth-century legal records to the personal papers of the Davies family to twentieth-century African American oral histories. Author Andrew C. Ross uses these sources to unearth the stark contrast between the version of Davies Manor's history that was built out of nostalgia, and the version that records have proven to actually be true. As a result, Ross illuminates the ongoing need for a deep and honest reckoning with the history of the South and of the United States, on the part of both individuals and community institutions such as local historic sites and small museums.

Review Quotes

"Andrew Ross's nuanced study of Davies Manor, once Shelby County's best known plantation, is a triumph of detailed scholarship and empathy. The Realms of Oblivion is one of Tennessee history's best books on a place and the peoples who interacted there."
--Carroll Van West, author of Tennessee's Historic Landscapes

"The Realms of Oblivion follows a trend of exciting scholarship that uses micro-histories, specifically family histories, to analyze the history of westward expansion, plantation slavery, and disunion."
--Jessica Blake, assistant professor of history, Austin Peay State University

"Andrew Ross's analysis is original and insightful, and it makes a significant contribution to examinations of Tennessee life. Focusing on the interior lives of individual African Americans connected as enslaved, free, or freed people to the Davies family, The Realms of Oblivion explores race and class in the rural South."
--Beverly G. Bond, editor of Remembering the Memphis Massacre: An American Story

About the Author

Andrew C. Ross is a Memphis-based writer and museum professional. He has worked as the museum director for The Blues Foundation and as executive director for the Davies Manor Association, where he led the development of the award-winning exhibit Omitted in Mass: Rediscovering Lost Narratives of Enslavement, Migration, and Memory through the Davies Family's Papers. His writing has appeared in Memphis Magazine, Delta Magazine, Texas Highways, Mississippi Sports Magazine, The Daily Beast, and various newspapers.