A Southern State with a deep cultural tradition, Tennessee is famous both as the cradle of blues and rock and roll and as the home of the ‘Southern Gothic’ style in literature. Dominated by the Mississippi River on its western border and the Appalachian Mountains to the east, the state is renowned for the richness of its agriculture and the musical atmosphere of its cities, in particularly Memphis and Nashville.

Cormac McCarthy is a leading proponent of the ‘Southern Gothic’ style which he uses in his own inimitable way to create profoundly bleak and visionary works. His most famous works set in Tennessee include The Orchard Keeper and Child of God. Robert Hicks on the other hand is one of the most prominent writers in the historical fiction genre and his novel The Widow of the South depicts Tennessee in the times of the Civil War.

Tennessee has played a vital role in the progress of rock and roll and has produced artists including Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton and of course Elvis Presley, who is memorialised at his former home, ‘Graceland’, in Memphis Tennessee. Nashville is also considered to be the home of country music in America, partly because the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ is based in the city.