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You are here: Home / Bibliography / Small Victories

Small Victories

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Small Victories (1992) - Sallie Bingham

Southern gothic touches lace this dark, portentous story of family lies revealed and grievances redressed. In Passion & Prejudice, Bingham described the bitter conflicts that beset several generations of her own family, which owned the Louisville Courier-Journal. She sets this, her second novel, in a small North Carolina town circa 1958. Louise, the elder of two middle-aged sisters, quietly cares for childlike Shelby, who suffers unpredictable seizures and emotional storms. Baffled and embarrassed by Louise’s refusal to put Shelby in an institution, their beloved cousin Big Tom, a state senator, forces her hand. While casting about for ways to free Shelby, Louise tries mightily to strip emotional blinders from the eyes of Big Tom’s tormented son, a Harvard sophomore heading for a nervous breakdown.

“Sallie Bingham recalls Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty and brilliantly brings their legacy into our modern age.”
— Carolyn See

Small Victories

Written by: Sallie Bingham
Date published: 1993
Published by: Zoland Books
ISBN: 111775328
Pages: 298
Binding(s): Paperback
Price: $ 9.95

Reviews:

“Louise, the elder of two middle-aged sisters, quietly cares for child-like Shelby, who suffers unpredictably seizures and emotional storms. Baffled and bewildered by Louise’s refusal to put Shelby in an institution, their beloved cousin, Big Tom, a state senator, forces her hand….”
— Publishers Weekly

“Effectively switching viewpoints… Bingham portrays a dysfunctional southern family at its worst, where the appearance of love is more important than love itself.”

“Bingham writes evocatively of the South and the paralysis of unmet emotional needs.”
— Library Journal

“A shriving family portrait gallery, both compassionate and ruthless.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“The drama in this absorbing novel is not in events, however, but in the tension between Louise, who enjoys the “small victories” of her life with Shelby, and Big Tom, who is embarrassed by them.”
— The New York Times

“The small victory is in making a choice, acting on your own destiny.”
— The Los Angeles Times

From an interview with the author…

Question: “Your new novel concerns the myths that a powerful, wealthy Southern family creates. Why are these families elevated to an almost royal status?”

Sallie: “I don’t think it’s particularly southern. Look at the Bush family. I think it has to do with the fact that 1 percent of this country owns 60 percent of the assets. And in order to justify that inequality, we tend to elevate those families. A hundred years ago it would have been the Vanderbilts. I comes down to this: How do we deal with the fact that the country is so out of balance? One option is to revolt; the other option is to elevate.”

— Interview in the Boston Globe

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Latest Comments

  • Martha White on The Fruits of the Past Five Years: “Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings: “And suddenly a light is thrown back, as when your train makes a curve, showing…” July 6th, 11:14 am
  • Nenita on The Fruits of the Past Five Years: “I like your writings, I can relate to you. If I had been persevering and seriously aware of my interests…” July 6th, 11:13 am
  • Sallie Bingham on Whose Eyes: “Thank you, James – you are correct!” June 29th, 11:19 am
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Watch Sallie

Taken By The Shawnee

Taken By The Shawnee

July 6th, 2025
Sallie Bingham introduces and reads from her latest work, Taken by the Shawnee.
Visiting Linda Stein

Visiting Linda Stein

March 3rd, 2025
Back on October 28th, 2008, I visited artist Linda Stein's studio in New York City and tried on a few of her handmade suits of armor.

Listen To Sallie

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

Rebecca Reynolds & Salie Bingham at SOMOS

November 8th, 2024
This event was recorded November 1, 2024 in Taos, NM at SOMOS Salon & Bookshop by KCEI Radio, Red River/Taos and broadcast on November 8, 2024.
Taken by the Shawnee Reading

Taken by the Shawnee Reading

September 1st, 2024
This reading took place at The Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, New Mexico in August of 2024.

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salliebingham avatar Sallie Bingham @salliebingham ·
10 Jul 1943388047287963824

Recently, I was reflecting with my good friend John on the fruits of the past five years. I’m so very grateful for all my readers who keep me and my books alive! https://buff.ly/NgnRjO3 #DorisDuke #TheSilverSwan #Treason #LittleBrother #TakenByTheShawnee #HowDaddyLostHisEar

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salliebingham avatar Sallie Bingham @salliebingham ·
9 Jul 1942957873966792785

It's important not to be ploughed under by the chaos and intemperance in #WashingtonDC. We don't live in that swamp, and we don't need to allow our hopes and dreams to be drowned out by the noise. "Reasons to Hope": https://buff.ly/Z8lH33D

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Recent Press

Sallie Bingham's latest is a captivating account of ancestor's ordeal
Pasatiempo, The Santa Fe New Mexican

“I felt she was with me” during the process of writing the book, Bingham says. “I felt I wasn’t writing anything that would have seemed to her false or unreal.”

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