Happy Land and American Queen

The true story of Louella Montgomery and the Kingdom of the Happy Land, a community of formerly enslaved people she helped establish in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina after the Civil War. Louella is known as the only Black woman to have ruled as a queen in America. Two novels, The American Queen by Vanessa Miller and Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, are inspired by this history, with The American Queen focusing on Louella's perspective.

Title: Happy Land (2025) by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Synopsis: The story of enslaved people in NC after the Civil War who established a community for Black people called the Kingdom of the Happy Land told through varying alternating viewpoints.

Title: The American Queen (2023) by Vanessa Miller
Synopsis: 1865. 24-year-old Louella and her husband lead a band of 400 newly freed people out of Mississippi to create Happy Land on the border of SC/NC. It is the story of that journey and
that kingdom, where people worked together to make sure everyone was provided for and
lived indignity and cooperation.
Reviews: Book review of Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The American Queen
Extra features: Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez discusses her new novel 'Happy Land' : NPR
The American Queen by Vanessa Miller | BGC Book Club