Child of the South
Mar 21, 2009
Child of the South
Author: Joanna Catherine Scott
Publisher: Berkeley Publishing Group
Publication Date: April 2009
ISBN: 978-0-425-22602-5
Child of the South is the euphemism that was used in the South to gently pronounce a person of black and white decent. During slavery, when there were many uptight, proper wives who were married to randy plantation owners who wandered through their slave quarters at night - there were many Children of the South.
This story is set in North Carolina shortly after the Civil War, where for the first time ever, whites are learning to live alongside blacks as equals. If only it were that easy.
Eugenia Mae Spotswood, a lovely and well cared for Southern Belle, much loved by her extended family, has come back home after working with her father in the Carolina goldmines during the war. They unfortunately lost their family fortune during the war. Her father let slip a comment that gets her suspicions rising about her heritage. This is directly before he kills himself and so she is unable to question him further.
Eugenia's suspicions rest on the fact that her mother was unloving toward her and also from her father's affectionate comments regarding a family slave.
Eugenia had freed her last family slave shortly before her father killed himself and she holds a deep fondness for him in her heart. She instructed him to run to Canada and has not heard from him since. Meanwhile her cousin is showing extremely warm feelings toward her that she feels she cannot reciprocate, given her suspicions - after all, offspring can look like either race.
This is a wonderful story about Tom, the slave Eugenia freed, and how he becomes near family to his old owners as together they struggle to tame the land and provide for everyone. This is also the story of Abraham, a strong willed black man with an eye for politics and righteousness. Finally, the story of how Eugenia's life ribbons through both of their lives and deeply affects much of what they do regarding their choices.
