A Good Southerner: The Life of Henry a Wise of VirginiaWise (1806 76) was extremely active on the Virginia and national political scene from the early 1830s to the mid 1860s, drawing popular support because of his projection of hopefulness and energy. Regarded as eccentric, Wise is given, in this study, an interpretation that finds consistency in his life long controversial and impulsive behavior. Simpson stresses Wise's ambivalent attitude toward slaves and slave holding, authority and authority figures,