An early American family is seen through the eyes of its women, including Tess, who pursues dreams in a new world, Della, who triumphantly emerges from the Revolution, and Seleta, who struggles to save her son during the Civil War. Reprint.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
The action is often sluggish and nearly always weightless in this transparently plotted, melodramatic novel about the European conquest of the Carolina coastline, from the author of Bayou (1991), Columbia (1986), and Sea Star (1983). Our story starts in 1587 with the landing of a new British colony on Roanoke Island, just before the birth of Virginia Dare. Then Dare and the rest of the colonists disappear. Next we meet Leah Hancock and her daughters, solemn Tess and charismatic Glory, in a tobacco-raising settlement in 1711. Indian warriors kill Leah's husband and badly wound her, but Leah and the girls escape to a colony of Scottish lumberjacks in Cape Fear. Leah marries the ship captain who brought them there. They all live relatively peacefully until Leah dies of smallpox and the captain fobs Tess and Glory off onto a dashing pirate. Tess marries him, Glory goes to live with them, and the sisters run the household and raise Tess' three children together. Then Glory gets pregnant and dies in childbirth and Tess is left to raise her niece, Della. Della grows up to be a femme fatale and marries Philip Gage, owner of a neighboring plantation called Deepwater. Their marriage is troubled from the start: Philip, who is loyal to the King in the brewing battle for independence from England, is always away for political meetings, while Della and her obsequious slave abet his rebel enemies. Della and Philip take in his daughter by another woman who comes, goes, marries young, and sends her infant daughter, Laurel, to be raised by Della after Philip's death. Laurel inherits Deepwater and marries a Quaker, with whom she helps slaves escape through the underground railroad and raises three children. After the Civil War, newly freed blacks claim part of Deepwater, a school for black children is established, and a schoolteacher arrives from up North. Laurel has an affair with the teacher, but it eventually peters out, as does the rest of the story. The lackluster narrative--a patchwork of animal vignettes and italicized history that the author didn't manage to weave into the story--never quite comes to life. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Relating the story of four generations of an American family living in and around the Cape Fear Valley in North Carolina, Jekel ( Bayou ; Columbia ) gives primary attention to the strong Southern women who have been responsible for maintaining the ties of love among family members. From the birth of Virginia Dare in the first colonial settlement on Roanoke Island to the life of Quaker educator and abolitionist Laurel Chapman during and after the Civil War, this sweeping saga utilizes an impressive amount of well-documented historical material (there's a bibliography) emphasizing the role that the Carolinas have played in American history. Jekel counterpoints such public events as John Culpepper's defiance of the king's Duty Acts a century before the Boston Tea Party with her female characters' private meditations on sex, marriage, infidelity and family. While these emotional, personal perspectives on history sometimes border on the melodramatic, Jekel suggests that many of those situations (children hovering on the edge of mortal illness, for example) were frequent concerns in earlier times. Compelling characters, situations and settings make this Jekel's best book to date.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00056039285
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Reliant Bookstore, El Dorado, KS, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. This book is in good condition with very minimal damage. Pages may have minimal notes or highlighting. Cover image on the book may vary from photo. Ships out quickly in a secure plastic mailer. Seller Inventory # RDV.0821748289.G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: USED_GOOD. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.15. Seller Inventory # G0821748289I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3542134-75
Quantity: 3 available
Seller: HPB-Diamond, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_369361210
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ABC Books, Springfield, MO, U.S.A.
mass_market. Condition: Acceptable. Standard used acceptable condition. Wear and creasing to cover and spine. Tracking available on most domestic orders. Seller Inventory # mon0000385934
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 35-0821748289-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Robinson Street Books, IOBA, Binghamton, NY, U.S.A.
Mass Market Pa. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Historicalgood some creasing, nicks and slight tears to edges else good sturdy rading copy with clean pages good or better clean reading cop. Seller Inventory # brownrr13acrm0241
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think_very_0821748289
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenDragon, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Fast Shipment. Seller Inventory # SilverDragon0821748289
Quantity: 1 available