By Marlen Suyapa Bodden
Whilst prosperous plantation proprietor Cornelius Allen marries off his daughter Clarissa, he offers her with a marriage reward: a tender slave girl referred to as Sarah. It in order that occurs that Sarah is Allen's daughter besides, the made from a long term sexual courting along with his slave Emmeline. while Clarissa's husband rejects her child son as illegitimate and sends Clarissa and Sarah again to the Allens, their go back units in movement a sequence of occasions that might wreck the once-powerful kin. advised during the alternating view issues of Sarah and Theodora Allen, Cornelius's spouse, the marriage present shines a obvious gentle at the brutal international of slavery within the antebellum American South. Marlen Suyapa Bodden's compelling historic novel explores how planters managed slaves and unfastened ladies alike, propelling them alongside a taut social tightrope as they struggled for freedom and autonomy in an oppressive and patriarchal global. The debatable and stunning finishing is certain to go away readers aghast.
Read Online or Download The Wedding Gift PDF
Best contemporary women books
Through turns funny and hot, stark and scary, Bluebeard'S Egg glows with adolescence thoughts, the truth of folks getting older, and the informal cruelty women and men inflict on one another. this is the frequent outer international of relations summers at distant lakes, winters of political activism, and seasons of unique buddies, mundane lives, and unforeseen loves.
The Social Climber of Davenport Heights
Ah, the lifetime of the upper-crust: decadent, flaky and never so sturdy for the center. Jane Lofton has every thing she ever dreamed of: a high-powered occupation, a superb domestic, a filthy rich husband, David, and a stunning daughter, Brynn. in fact, David additionally has a brand new female friend spending his previous cash. Brynn additionally has a therapist aiding her articulate her contempt for her mom.
Extra info for The Wedding Gift
Sample text
CHAPTER THREE SARAH CAMPBELL MY LIFE, FROM BIRTH, WAS TIED TO CLARISSA’S. I was born three months before her, and my mother was her wet nurse. We were playmates from a year old, my mother said. When I began working, I was allowed respite from my labor to spend time with Clarissa. There was a vegetable garden in the rear of the kitchen where we went sometimes, drawn by its pungent smells. Laughing and holding hands, we would throw ourselves face down on a patch of herbs and breathe in the earthy smell.
Mum lost her color, and Papa counseled me against teasing her. ” “It was in jest, Mum. ” Papa wrote to acquaintances in Alabama and received a response from Mr. Cornelius Allen, well known for being the eldest son of an established family. My parents were joyous when he demonstrated an interest in me. Papa said that Mr. Allen must have heard about my legendary blue eyes and porcelain skin. Mr. Allen began courting me the evening of my presentation. He was elegant and, more importantly, engaging because he told me about his travels to the Northern states, the European continent, and the Western Territories.
Is Mr. ” I ran out the door. Although I knew that Belle was gone, I was still thinking that somehow I would see her with the men who took her away from us. I proceeded to the main gate, which was guarded by four overseers. One, a pink-faced man holding a rifle, told me to go back to the Hall. He poked me with the rifle on my arm and pushed me to the ground. I rubbed the area where he hurt me. Another man came over. “Get up. ” I did not move. ” I did not obey him, and he pulled my head covering off, wrapped my hair around his hand, and dragged me several feet.