Short answers, pulled from the story.
Davis wrote most of the book at Beauvoir, a plantation in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he lived as a guest of the novelist Sarah Ellis Dorsey. Dorsey assisted him with organization, editing, and encouragement before her death in 1879, after which she left the plantation to Davis in her will.
The book was published in 1881 by D. Appleton and Co. of New York. It appeared as a two-volume edition totaling more than 1,500 pages, with many engraved illustrations.
Davis argued that secession was constitutionally and morally justified, drawing comparisons between the American Revolution and the formation of the Confederacy. He cited constitutional passages, named scholars, and invoked Abraham Lincoln's speech criticizing the United States war with Mexico to support his case.
The book sold more than 22,000 copies by 1890. Davis considered it a financial disappointment, however, as it fell far short of contemporary bestsellers like Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs and Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Oscar Wilde pronounced the book a masterpiece, though he openly admitted he had not read all of it. His praise was considered unexpected by the book's contemporaries and later observers.
Davis claimed Appleton was withholding his full royalties. Appleton countered that advances paid during the writing had consumed most of what was owed. Davis filed suit in the final year of his life, and the case was settled out of court by his heirs shortly after his death.