Raintree County is a novel by Ross Lockridge Jr. published in 1948. It tells the story of a small-town Midwestern teacher and poet named John Shawnessy, who, in his younger days before his service as a Union soldier in the Civil War, met and married a beautiful Southern belle; however, her emotional instability leads to the destruction of their marriage. No. 1 on The New York Times Fiction best seller list for 1 week, from the issue of May 30, 1948. Wiki link