The Able McLaughlins

"The Able McLaughlins" is a novel by Margaret Wilson that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1924. It follows a family of Scotch Covenanters who settled the American prairies in the 1860s. The McLaughlin's oldest son Wully has just returned from the Civil War planning to marry his sweetheart Christie McNair, but for some reason, she won't talk to him anymore. Wully finds himself hurt and perplexed until he finds out that the cause of her rejection is the terrible secret she has been keeping...