Vintage Faulkner: Absalom, Absalom! - William Faulkner

As a poor white boy, Sutpen was turned away from a plantation owner's mansion by a negro butler. From then on, he was determined to force his way into the upper echelons of Southern society. His relentless will ensures his ambitions are soon realised; land, marriage, children. But after the chaos of Civil War, secrets from his own past threaten to destroy everything he has worked for.