son. Soon after, Serena and her henchman, Galloway, are murdered in their hacienda by an assailant armed with a knife. A guard comes on the scene as Serena is dying, however, and identifies her fleeing killer as identical to an old photograph of George. The guard's account is discounted by the Brazilian police. Major Characters Serena Pemberton - Protagonist and Pemberton’s wife. Cunning, manipulative and greedy. George Pemberton - Serena's husband and business partner. Rachel Harmon - The sixteen-year-old mother of George's illegitimate child, Jacob. Galloway - Serena's henchman. Mrs. Galloway - Galloway's blind mother who can tell the future of people around her. Mr. Harris - A newest partner of Serena and Pemberton who buys land to harvest the mineral instead of logging. Mr. Buchanan - One of the Pemberton's business partners. Mr. Wilkie - One of the Pemberton's business partners. Jacob Harmon - Son of Rachel Harmon and George Pemberton. Sheriff McDowell - Sheriff of Waynesville. Snipes - A crew foreman. Ezra Campbell - Pemberton's bookkeeper. Doctor Cheney - The camp's doctor. Joel Vaughn - Rachel's friend. Preacher McIntyre - preacher that works for Boston Lumber. Adeline Jenkins - Rachel's neighbor, who helps take care of Jacob. Major themes Greed, corruption, murder, illegitimacy, obsession, childbirth, timber baron, remote mountain life, 1920s, Gender roles, jealousy, lawlessness, mental illness, desperation. Publication history 2008, USA, HarperCollins , Pub date 2008, Hardback Awards and nominations Finalist, 2009: Fiction for the PEN/Faulkner Award Listed as #34 on The New York Times Bestseller list for Hardcover Fiction in the November 2, 2008 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Film adaptation A film adaptation, Serena, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as George and Serena Pemberton, was released in October 2014 to negative reviews. Major adaptations from the book: Title character is given a deep background in timber business; Greek chorus of loggers omitted; film story not told from Serena's point of view. References External links New York Times article on Serena, published October 8, 2008 Washington Post article on Serena, published October 12, 2008 2008 American novels Novels set in North Carolina American novels adapted into films HarperCollins books Novels set in the 1930s PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction-winning works