'A remarkable first novel, a romance of love, of friendship, of family, of land. Frazier has inhaled the spirit of the age and breathes it into the reader's being' -- Erica Wagner, The Times 'Cold Mountain is a heartbreakingly beautiful story, elegantly told and utterly convincing down to the last haunting detail' -- John Berendt 'Full of graphic, unflinching details, striking concrete images and lyrically precise descriptions of the natural world, this wonderful novel presents the terrible, discordant reality of life in a war. Profoundly moving, it raises all the big questions' -- Christina Patterson, Observer

Charles Frazier lives in North Carolina, where this novel is set, and where he and his wife have been developing a horse farm for the last five years. He has taught in universities, written travel books and had one short story published. COLD MOUNTAIN, his first novel, is based on stories of his ancestors' experiences during the Civil War, handed down through the generations.