To the Ramparts of Infinity

Jack D. Elliott Jr. was employed from 1985 to 2010 as historical archaeologist with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and taught archaeology, geography, and religion as an adjunct professor at the Meridian campus of Mississippi State University from 1988 to 2016.

Faulkner gave the impression that his great-grandfather was a rather tough, humorless character, and the Old Colonel's first biographer, Donald Duclos, and subsequent Faulkner biographers -- entranced with Faulkner's fiction -- tended to take the legend for fact. Jack D. Elliott Jr., a historical archeologist and a native Mississippian with deep roots in a family settlement hardly more than an hour's drive from the Old Colonel's Ripley, is the kind of scholar who goes looking for material evidence that, in many instances, does not square with the legend Faulkner and his biographers have perpetuated.--Carl Rollyson "New York Sun" William Faulkner may not have had much use for historical facts, but they most certainly have their place. Jack D. Elliot Jr., has done a marvelous job of bringing a historian's eye to bear upon those facts. This impeccably researched biography of Colonel William C. Falkner is a tremendous achievement that provides a corrective on the many distortions and misconceptions of this dynamic and influential man. Elliott takes Falkner and his time and place on their own terms, the result being not only an invaluable resource for Faulkner readers and scholars but also an excellent account of a remarkable life and an important book on north Mississippi history.--Taylor Hagood, author of Faulkner, Writer of Disability I can't imagine a better-documented biography of W. C. Falkner. Jack Elliott corrects the errors and misapprehensions of earlier writers, scholars, and biographers with a deep immersion in the sources of local history.--Carl Rollyson, author of The Life of William Faulkner The original Falkner seems to have led a truly remarkable life, and this wonderful biography does his life justice while at the same time making major statements on larger issues such as his influence on William Faulkner as well as the original Falkner's little corner of the world in Mississippi.--Timothy B. Smith, author of Mississippi in the Civil War: The Home Front