The wettest county in the world a novel based on a true story. Lawlesspreviously published as the wettest county in the worldwas a new york times editors choice, and one of the san francisco chronicles 50 best books of the year. Tom hardy shines as forrest bondurant, the oldest and smartest of the brothers. In the twilight of his career, anderson finds himself driving along dusty red roads trying to find the bondurant brothers, piece together the clues linking them to the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy, and break open the silence that shrouds franklin county. The wettest county in the world based on the true story of matt bondurants grandfather and two granduncles, the wettest county in the world is a gripping tale of brotherhood, greed, and murder. His familys ancestral home was in franklin county, virginia. He is the youngest son of the late jack bondurant, one of three franklin county moonshinemaking brothers portrayed in the film, which is based on his nephew matt bondurants book the wettest. The wettest county in the world book by matt bondurant. In vivid, muscular prose, matt bondurant brings these mentheir dark deeds, their long silences, their deep desiresto life. The wettest county in the world by matt bondurant free. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the wettest county in the world.
Lawless is a 2012 american crime drama film directed by john hillcoat. When sherwood anderson, the journalist and author of winesburg, ohio, was covering a story there he christened it the wettest county in the world. Lawlesspreviously published as the wettest county in the worldwas a new york times editors choice, and one of the san francisco chronicle s 50 best books of the year. Bondurant brothers prohibition franklin county virginia. These 3 men bootlegged gallons and gallons of moonshine all. Also, the court transcripts from the moonshine conspiracy. Matt bondurant is the author of three novels, the most recent of which is the night swimmer. And now the novel has become a movie, lawless, which opens next week. Prohibition and plays a central role in a violent conspiracy triala story that is. A gritty, gripping tale of brotherhood, greed, and murder, this engrossing entertainment weekly novel is now a major motion picture starring jessica chastain, tom hardy, shia labeouf, gary oldman, guy pearce, and mia wasikowska. Intrigued by the movie lawless, on which the book the wettest county in the world is based, i decided to read mr bondurants work.
The novel is told from both the perspectives of the three bondurant brothers. And he wrote an article for a magazine and when he was sort of investigating the great moonshine conspiracy, a franklin county moonshot conspiracy of 1930. Id gone in expecting a tough, bossy big brother, but hardys quiet portrayal of the strongest brother was a pleasant surprise. Matt bondurant, the author of lawless, on which john hillcoats film was based, says his familys role in the moonshine business only came to light in recent years. Not only are there news articles concerning events according to matt bondurant, on the daily beasti havent yet seen them, but the book the great moonshine conspiracy trial of 1935 by t.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lawless. Explain the sequence of events that precipitates the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy trial of 1935. The wettest county in the world by matt bondurant at the best online ebook storage. Matt bondurant, also a grandson of jack, wrote a book about his grandfather and.
What were the outcomes of the trial for the bondurants. Bondurant was born and raised in alexandria, virginia near washington, dc. The bondurant boys were a notorious gang of roughnecks and moonshiners who ran liquor through franklin county, virginia, during prohibition and in the years after. The wettest county in the world by matt bondurant fictiondb.
During the prohibition period, the bondurant brothers were legendary for running moonshine. The wettest county in the world, matt bondurant shop. Home books contact bio lawless manuscript consultation. Running moonshine liquor during the prohibition years, a notorious trio of brothers. I havent yet seen them, but the book the great moonshine conspiracy trial of 1935 by t. Matt bondurant talks about his grandfather, the gangster, and how he. Tom hardy is the unkillable leader of the bondurant brothers in lawless then they started production and they did invite me down to the set, so my dad and i came down for a couple of days. The screenplay by australian singerscreenwriter nick cave is based on matt bondurants historical novel the wettest county in the world 2008. Matt bondurant, the author of lawless, on which john hillcoats film was based, says his familys role in the moonshine business only came to light in. Keister greer look to the right, its listed on my sidebar documents everything that went on.
They scared me, bondurant said recently, over a glass of corn. The bondurant boys become the heroes of the mountain area as they fight to preserve their product and property. The book tells of the trio during the depression and prohibition in rural virginia, who made a living bootlegging moonshine. Pick up your bottle today at a virginia abc store near you. Shia labeouf plays jack bondurant in lawless in theaters aug. But, in 1935, he was indicted in a corruption trial the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy trial as it came to be known which exposed a massive system of kickbacks and bribes. Author matt bondurants family legend is brought to. Lawless helps grow virginia bootlegging trios legend. This riveting account of the bondurant brothers and their hill upbringing in the. The morning delivery december 19, 1930 surviving the shootout moonshine continues forrest bondurant nov. The original bondurant brothers moonshine was enjoyed in speakeasies. Bondurant brothers distillery virginia is for lovers. The bondurant boys were a notorious gang of roughnecks and moonshiners who ran liquor through franklin county, virginia, during prohibition and. That nickname became the title of bondurants 2008 novel, which.
Based on the book, the wettest county in the world, author matt bondurant spins a tale of his grandfather and granduncles, who are bootleggers in franklin county, virginia during prohibition. Anderson finds himself driving along dusty red roads trying to find the bondurant brothers, piece together the clues linking them to the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy, and break open the silence that shrouds franklin county. Matt bondurant lawless the film powered by create your own unique website with customizable templates. The history of this story is fastenating and horrifying. A novel based on a true story ebook written by matt bondurant. So much so that the movie lawless was made in 2012 based off of the bondurant brothers illegal moonshine business as written by matt bondurant, one of jacks grandsons, in his bestselling book. These bondurant brothers were the stuff of legend in franklin county. The real story behind lawless by matt bondurant newsweek.
He is the youngest son of the late jack bondurant, one of three franklin county moonshine making brothers portrayed in the film, which is based on his nephew matt bondurant s book the wettest. We recently spoke to author matt bondurant the third translation, the night swimmer about the new movie lawless, based off of his novel the wettest county in the world, which was based. It is the depressionera tale of how the bondurant boysbondurants grandfather, andrew jackson bondurant, known as jack, and jacks older brothers forrest and howardran moonshine and. He stars in the new film lawless, based on my novel the wettest county. Buy a cheap copy of the wettest county in the world. In vivid, muscular prose, matt bondurant brings these mentheir dark deeds. Franklin county moonshine conspiracy trial as it came to be known.
Fast forward 80 years, jack bondurant s grandson, robert, has taken over the family tradition of distilling moonshine, but legally this time. Anderson finds himself driving along dusty red roads, piecing together the clues linking the brothers to the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy. Tom hardy, shia labeouf, jason clark play the bondurant brothers in lawless, a story of moonshine and crime in prohibitionera virginia, writes killian fox published. He is the greatnephew of the main character, jack bondurant, the youngest of three hardcase brothers, who choose to operate independently from what was known as the franklin county, va, moonshine conspiracy, the head of which was a socalled. Bondurant brothers are usually a name that comes up. Genealogy profile for james forrest bondurant genealogy for james forrest bondurant 1901 1965 family tree on geni, with over 190 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. In vivid, muscular prose, matt bondurant brings these men their dark deeds. D uring the prohibition period, the bondurant brothers of franklin county, virginia howard, forrest, and jack were legendary for running moonshine. There is a little of everything in this book and the author concisely tells the tale in about 300 pages. Lawless book by matt bondurant official publisher page.
Howard, forrest and jack, were bootlegging brothers during the prohibition era. Reminiscent of just about every depressionera gangster film, lawless shares the story of the bondurant boys, a real trio of brothers known as the most prolific moonshine peddlers in. So much so that a movie, lawless, was made about them. Howard and forrest bondurant, brothers whose moonshine operation was so. They are the main characters in the 2012 film lawless and. Forrest tom hardy, howard jason clarke, and jack shia labeouf bondurant successfully run moonshine out of the mountains and into chicago, until the law gets involvedand not in the way you might initially think. I think my grandfather would be delighted at being portrayed by as talented a young actor as shia labeouf.
Based on the true story of matt bondurants grandfather and two granduncles, the wettest county in the world is a gripping tale of brotherhood, greed, and murder. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Novelist matt bondurants family has taken its place in gangster lore with the. Fishpond new zealand, the wettest county in the world. The wettest county in the world is a 2008 historical novel by matt bondurant, an american writer who features his grandfather jack and granduncles forrest and howard as the main characters in the novel. The film stars shia labeouf, tom hardy, gary oldman, mia wasikowska, jessica chastain, jason clarke, and guy pearce. A novel based on a true story by matt bondurantbuy. A man by the name of sherwood anderson began to research about the men who had such a reputation and found records of all kinds. His first novel, the third translation, was an international bestseller, translated into fourteen languages worldwide. During the prohibition period, the bondurant brothers were legendary for running. Get it today with same day delivery, order pickup or drive up.
He stars in the new film lawless, based on my novel the wettest county in the world. The wettest county in the world book by matt bondurant official. Anderson finds himself driving along dusty red roads, piecing together the clues linking the brothers to the great franklin county moonshine conspiracy, and breaking open the silence that shrouds franklin county. Ohio is there to report on the saga of the bondurant brothers. The book tells of the trio during the depression and prohibition in rural.
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