Spencer's Mountain: The Family that Inspired the TV Series The Waltons

by Earl Hamner Jr.

Book Overview

In this classic novel that inspired the TV series The Waltons, a father struggles to support his large family in Depression-era rural Virginia.

For generations, the Spencers lived on the mountain that still bears their name in the Blue Hills of Virginia. But the hard times changed everything. Now Clay Spencer works at the local mill in New Dominion and lives with his family in housing provided by the company. A...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0795353448
• ISBN13: 9780795353444
• Release Date: January 2022
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media LLC
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Warm All-American Coming-of-Age Story

Note: Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks Set in rural Virginia during the Depression, this warm coming-of-age story of a teenager, a would-be writer, is just the thing for a cold winter's evening. It's a slice of Americana remembered with love and emotion. The famous TV series "The Waltons" is based on "Spencer's Mountain." As a reader of fifty years, I highly recommend it. If you haven't read Richard Bradford's "Red Sky At Morning," that's another highly recommended coming-of-age novel (this one set in New Mexico in the 1940s). Red Sky at Morning: A Novel (Perennial Classics) I would also highly recommend the modern cowboy story "Goldenrod," by Herbert Harker. Goldenrod And "Finding Caruso," by Kim Barns. Finding Caruso These novels are a way of reliving our youth. Frank Lloyd Wright said something to the effect that: "Youth is a fact of birth, but being young is a state of mind." I hope you liked my little review and the quotation. Thanks

Good Downhome Story Telling

This past summer I had the good fortune of visiting the hometown of Earl Hamner, author of Spencer's Mountain and creator of the television series The Waltons.I happened to be in central Virginia on vacation and realized we were within 40 miles of Schuyler. This is a small town in the Blue Ridge mountains that happens to be the home of this gifted story teller.From this visit I have acquired a new found love for all things Waltons.Earl Hamner takes snippets from his life and turns them into earthy portrayals of growing up in a poor family and of "coming of age". It seems like we all have faced questions, problems, trials and triumphs like this.This book was enjoyable to read and entertaining. I really couldn't help visualizing the tv family we all know... I guess that's what a well known classic show will do to you.If you like the Waltons or stories from the depression era this book will appeal to you.

Great coming of age story

I read this book in junior high, before The Waltons was produced. I loved it! It is a warm, humorous coming-of-age story, featuring Clay-Boy and his multitude of red-haired younger siblings growing up in Appalachia. The story centers around the fact that Clay-Boy (yes, an aspiring writer) wants to go to college, and his rural family must find a way to send him. He also discovers girls and the fickleness of young love, while his parents struggle with the financial hardship of the Depression years. Semi-autobiographical novel by Earl Hamner, Jr., on which the Waltons was based.

A nice read.

If you enjoyed watching The Walton's on TV, you will probably enjoy Spencer's Mountain, since apparently the show was based-on this book. The names are different, and you get a greater sense of the financial and social challenges facing the family, and there is no radio for the family to gather around after dinner, but it is very much the same story. If you can get past the differences in the names, you will be rewarded with a pleasant read, especially if read just before you drift off to sleep at night. Good night, John-boy.