The Last House on the Street

Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain published the historical fiction novel The Last House on the Street in 2021. The book features two distinct timelines. The first of these is 1965 and centers around a naive, white college student, Ellie, who volunteers to help register voters in her native rural county in North Carolina. Ellie encounters culture shock on multiple levels as she discovers the great disparity between Black and white living conditions as well as the entrenched racist bias held by people who are close to her. The second storyline takes place in 2010 when a widowed young professional woman, Kayla, encounters veiled threats and vandalism when she moves into the dream house she built with her late husband. Ellie returns to the neighborhood after 45 years. The women meet and eventually discover that they both face momentous, unanswered questions. As a lifelong advocate for equality, Chamberlain lives in North Carolina and shares commonalities with both of the fictional protagonists.

This guide refers to the St. Martin’s Griffin paperback version.

Content Warning: The novel discusses racism, racist violence, suicide, and miscarriage.

Plot Summary

Chamberlain, through most of the book, alternates chapters between Kayla in 2010 and Ellie in 1965. Kayla Carter, an architect grieving the recent accidental death of her husband, Jackson, prepares to move with her toddler, Rainie, into her just completed dream house in Round Hill, North Carolina. In her office, she encounters an older, mysterious woman who imparts vague threats. The encounter heightens the anxiety that Kayla feels about moving into her large house on a heavily wooded lot.

Back in 1965, Ellie Hockley, a student at the University of North Carolina, hears that a local Black pastor is recruiting student volunteers from the North and West to come to North Carolina and register Black voters. Ellie takes her friend Brenda, who is pregnant and about to marry her boyfriend Garner, with her as she goes to meet Reverend Greg Filburn and tell him that she wants to join the registration program, SCOPE. Though willing to let her apply, Greg is extremely skeptical. Ellie’s parents and brother, Buddy, attempt to prevent her from joining the program, but she forges her father’s name and submits the application. She also breaks up with her boyfriend, Reed. Ellie rides to Atlanta for SCOPE training with three other students.

In 2010, Kayla is still exceedingly anxious about moving into her new home. Nearby, she sees a middle-aged woman unloading groceries in front of the Hockley house, an old two-story home. Buddy Hockley, a patient with a terminal heart illness, lives there with his elderly mother, Pat. Stopping to help the woman, Kayla discovers that she is Ellie, who has come back from California during her brother’s illness. While they hit it off at first, Ellie dismisses Kayla upon learning that she is Reed’s daughter. The next day, Kayla takes Rainie around the circular trail behind their house into the woods. They discover a small, deserted lake and a clearing dominated by a giant oak tree with an old treehouse. These things delight Rainie but add to Kayla’s apprehension.

The narrative returns to 1965. Once their training is concluded, Ellie rides with nine other volunteers back to her native Derby County, where they will live with local Black residents and canvass potential voters. Because President Johnson has not yet signed the Voting Rights Act, they can only educate people. Ellie meets Win, a seemingly humorless Black student from Shaw University in Raleigh, who is also from Derby County. This is his second summer as a civil rights worker. Ellie also meets Rosemary, a Black community volunteer whose cousin, Ronny, works for Buddy in his auto shop.

The narrative moves forward to 2010. Driving past the Hockley house, Kayla sees smoke and flames. She stops and calls for help, and she gets Buddy out of the house. Ellie shows up and is extremely grateful to Kayla for saving Buddy. Going through her husband’s old letters, Kayla finds a letter from her father to Jackson asking them not to buy the property. She knows now that her apprehension is not in her own mind and resolves to ask her father about the house.

Back in 1965, Win and Ellie are assigned to work together. They become a good team. At the end of their first week of canvassing, the volunteers hold a protest. Reporters cover the protest, so they know that they will be in the newspaper. That night, a cross is set afire in front of the house where Ellie is staying. The next morning, she learns that she must relocate.

The narrative returns to 2010. While practicing yoga with Ellie, Kayla meets Brenda. She learns that, just as Jackson died in a fall, so too did Brenda’s husband, Garner. Brenda tells her that she and Ellie used to double date with Garner and Reed. Kayla is stunned to learn that her father dated Ellie. Kayla asks Reed why he didn’t want her to move into the house. He tells her that the wooded area has a bad reputation, saying that the Klan used to meet underneath the oak tree. He acknowledges that he dated Ellie, explaining that she fell in love with someone else and broke his heart before moving to California.

Back in 1965, the white volunteers decide to anonymously attend a Klan meeting. Ellie is stunned to see Garner. A woman in the crowd sees that Jocelyn, another volunteer, has forgotten to take off her SCOPE pin. Though they leave immediately, a number of the attendees chase them. Ellie falls into a ditch, knocking herself out and ending up in the hospital. One evening, Ellie’s father shows up at the school and demands that she leave the SCOPE program immediately. She decides not to leave with him. At a protest that Friday, an angry crowd harasses the protesters. Something thrown at Ellie hits DeeDee, the little girl whose family hosts Ellie. DeeDee sustains a deep cut. Later, Ellie has a talk with Win about her motives for being in the program. She tells him about the death of Mattie, her Black childhood playmate, for which she feels responsible. Win confesses that he has feelings for her but says that he will not act upon them.

In 2010, while Kayla is on a phone call, someone takes Rainie into the woods. Soon, Rainie is alone atop the treehouse. As a favor to Ellie, Kayla takes Pat to a doctor’s appointment. In their conversation, Kayla learns that Pat detests Ellie and considers Brenda her true daughter.

The narrative returns to 1965. The volunteers go to a Black night club. Win dances with Ellie, and later they sit alone in a van. As they talk, the police arrive. Ellie tells Win to run so that he will not be seen with her. The volunteers spend the night in jail. Win confesses to Ellie that he loves her. At a protest, Buddy shows up inebriated, having learned that Ellie was dancing with Win. He beats Win savagely. Greg tells Ellie that she must leave SCOPE, and she returns home. While her parents and brother are glad to see her, they remain aloof. She discovers that the family has suffered because of her civil rights work. Win writes Ellie to ask if he can see her. They meet at night in the treehouse where they make love. He asks her to go west or north with him to get married. As they depart, Buddy sees them. Her family confronts Ellie. She tells them that she met Win to tell him never to see her again. They had arranged to meet again the next night and Ellie has no way to tell Win not to come. When he arrives, he gives her a silver bracelet. A group of Klansmen arrive and, as Win tries to run, they beat him, tie him to a truck that belongs to Reed, and drag him away. One of the Klansmen climbs to the tree house and Ellie kicks him in the head, causing him to fall to the ground. Climbing down to rescue Win, Ellie hurts her ankle and is left helpless. Ellie asks Buddy to help her search for Win. They go to Reed’s house. His truck is not there, but he is. He tells them that he left his truck at Buddy’s shop and had nothing to do with Win. Ellie learns that Garner died in a fall and Brenda miscarried. When she goes to the hospital to see Brenda, her friend refuses to see her. After two days of searching, Ellie realizes that Win is dead. She tells the SCOPE group what happened, then leaves for California.

In 2010, Kayla sees a light in the treehouse and calls the police, who find Ellie there. Kayla asks Ellie to explain the story of what happened. Ellie tells her everything, including the murder of Win. One afternoon, the fencing company that Kayla has hired discovers a skeleton in the woods behind her house. It is Win’s. The police question Reed because it was his truck that was used to drag Win. Afterward, Reed wants to speak to Buddy about who might have gotten his truck. Reed, Buddy, Kayla, Brenda, Ellie, and Pat all talk. It comes to light that Brenda and Pat were in the truck when Win was attacked. Pat drove the truck that dragged Win. The Klansman who climbed up in the tree was Garner who died when Ellie, not knowing who it was, kicked him to the ground. Ellie’s father could not handle what they had done and took his life. In the aftermath, Buddy dies, and Ellie demolishes their house before moving back to California. Kayla falls back in love with the house and the wooded lot.