The Tulip Poplars by House, Silas

A sweeping historical novel about hidden, forbidden love in the early 1900s by bestselling writer and former poet laureate of Kentucky, Silas House.

"A masterful storyteller, House has crafted an ambitious and utterly beautiful love story so attuned to the minute moments in which a life can change." --Kevin Wilson, author of Run for the Hills

Amos and Tom fall in love while working in the tobacco fields during the hot summers of the early 1900s, yet Tom cannot shake his strict religious upbringing nor the responsibilities of his family's farm. His longtime friend Maeve also pines for a man she can't have, lest she endanger his already tenuous life in a town and world shaped by racial lines. How do you live a life that feels untrue, and at what point do you risk everything?

The Tulip Poplars is a gorgeous and moving novel spanning most of the 20th century, centering on four people trying to find happiness in a world that demands conventional choices. House tells a deeply intimate story of faith and doubt, race and class, sexual desire and the longing to be good when you've been taught that you are evil for loving who you love. Based on the story of an ancestor, House's new novel takes us from NYC to Southern cities to Appalachia and will leave you with a bigger heart.

Author: Silas House
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 10/13/2026
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.23lbs
Size: 9.45h x 6.25w x 1.29d
ISBN: 9781643756974

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 08/01/2026 pg. 68
Publishers Weekly 08/10/2026
Booklist 10/01/2026

About the Author
Silas House was a finalist for a 2024 Grammy Award, winner of the 2022 Duggins Prize, and is a two-time winner of the Southern Book Prize. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, the New York Times, the Advocate, Time, Garden & Gun, and other publications. He teaches at Berea College and at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Creative Writing.