Nola and Baldwin

Inspired by Their Eyes Were Watching God for a new generation longing for a romantic finale, Nola and Baldwin is a sweeping historical novel that is both a journey of the heart and a reflection of its time.

After the tragic death of her father and her mother’s descent into mental illness, Nola Denny finds solace in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Inspired by Hurston’s unforgettable heroine, Janie Crawford, Nola sets out to find her own voice—one long silenced by the burdens of caregiving and the wounds of her past. On her way to New York, an unexpected stop in Meridian leads to a fresh beginning, a place to call home, and the love of her life: Baldwin Carter, a Pullman porter.

Baldwin escaped a loveless childhood after a compassionate stranger welcomed him into her home and gave him the chance to build a new life. Proud and hardworking, he endures the daily indignities of serving passengers who refuse to see him as an equal. When he meets Nola, he knows he has found the woman who gives him strength and reminds him of his own worth.

As they endure loss, hardship, and months of separation, Nola and Baldwin must confront the pain of their pasts to build a future together. They come to realize that the sacrifices they make are not only for themselves, but also for future generations searching for hope and opportunity.

Set during the final years of the Great Depression and shaped by real historical events, Nola and Baldwin follows its unforgettable characters from the American South to the Midwest and North. It is an epic love story about a bond powerful enough to withstand the forces of racism determined to tear it apart.