Advisor(s)

Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Committee Member(s)

Jim Braziel
Rebecca Bach

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

1-27-2026

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English (MAE)

School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Arts & Humanities

Abstract

Bright Eyes and The Kinfolk is a historical fiction set in the pre-Civil War South that pays homage to Western media including, but not limited to, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, The Rifleman, Two Mules For Sister Sara, and Tombstone. The story follows the enslaved Dahomey (modern Benin) African Tina Jones who is in search of Uyi, her younger brother that was recently sold off from the Jones plantation in Mobile, Alabama. With a lead pointing to the state of Texas, Tina sets out west and along the way meets the mysterious Monte and his associate Bo. These two men are part of an underground mercenary gang known as “The Kinfolk.” Through perseverance and grit, Tina is taken under the gang’s wing and is galloped away into unexpected freedom and an unknown future.

Keywords

action;African American;American South;cowboys;historical fiction;pre-Civil War

ProQuest Publication Number

32285369

ISBN

9798273381063

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Fine Arts Commons

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