Helpful Score: 3
Its 1837, Mattie is summoned to the big house where newborn Elizabeth (Lisbeth) Wainwright is thrust into her arms to nurse, care for and nurture. It is supposed to be a great honor to get to work in the owners home but Mattie had to leave her own baby and her family behind in the slaves quarters. But slaves do what they are told or face cruel punishment so she tries to make the best of it, visiting her family for a few hours on Sundays and glimpses she can catch out the nursery window. Maddie and Lisbeth become as close as a mother and daughter and their journey has just begun.
Dollycass Thoughts
This is a beautifully written chronicle of one of the worst times in American history. The story takes place on the Wainwright plantation and while they work their slaves very hard the punishments did not seem to be a severe as at other plantations during this time. Lisbeth took time to learn what life was truly like for the slaves and her innocent awakening to life beyond the big house was very engaging. She really led a sheltered life with Maddie. Maddie was a strong woman that never complained and lived with the life she was dealt, even though it was filled with much hardship. Lisbeth grows in strength too by the end of the story.
The reader gets to travel through both womens journey that at times brought tears to my eyes and others that made me smile. This is a perfect springtime read as the yellow crocus just starts to bloom and the earth is renewed after winter. I really loved this story and think you will too.
Dollycass Thoughts
This is a beautifully written chronicle of one of the worst times in American history. The story takes place on the Wainwright plantation and while they work their slaves very hard the punishments did not seem to be a severe as at other plantations during this time. Lisbeth took time to learn what life was truly like for the slaves and her innocent awakening to life beyond the big house was very engaging. She really led a sheltered life with Maddie. Maddie was a strong woman that never complained and lived with the life she was dealt, even though it was filled with much hardship. Lisbeth grows in strength too by the end of the story.
The reader gets to travel through both womens journey that at times brought tears to my eyes and others that made me smile. This is a perfect springtime read as the yellow crocus just starts to bloom and the earth is renewed after winter. I really loved this story and think you will too.
Kitty S. (kittynewengland) reviewed Yellow Crocus (Freedman/Johnson, Bk 1) on + 116 more book reviews
Nicely written historical fiction set in antebellum Virginia. Story focuses on the relationship between Lisbeth, the white daughter of the plantation owner, and Mattie, a black slave who is her wet nurse and nanny. They form a strong bond that influences Lisbeth for the rest of her life. The social conventions and the difficulty of life as a slave are touched upon, but not as deeply as in other books such as The Kitchen House.
I thought YELLOW CROCUS was a very simplistic and uneven narrative.
The first half focused on Mattie, the slave, and was more interesting than the second half, which focused solely on Lisbeth, the little girl Mattie nursed and basically raised from the day she was born. Things did pick up in the middle, but then fizzled out into boring courting and preparing for balls.
In the end, I thought it was a sweet and honest look at the kinds of human bonds that transcend race, class and time. B/B-.
The first half focused on Mattie, the slave, and was more interesting than the second half, which focused solely on Lisbeth, the little girl Mattie nursed and basically raised from the day she was born. Things did pick up in the middle, but then fizzled out into boring courting and preparing for balls.
In the end, I thought it was a sweet and honest look at the kinds of human bonds that transcend race, class and time. B/B-.
Excellent book! Grabbed my attention from page 1. Story centers on 2 characters- Mattie, a field slave brought into the "Big House" as a wet nurse and Elizabeth, the child who Mattie takes care of while her own child is raised by others. We see the relationship between the 2 develop and how Elizabeth's identity is influenced, unintentionally, by the woman who raises her. Only problem I had was with some of the dialogue between Elizabeth and her elders, it didn't seem to reflect her age when she was a child. I was always figuring out how old she was because she always spoke like an adult.
All the publishers in NYC who took a pass on this novel should be kicking themselves. I cant even find a website for the publisher that did publish this book which makes me think it was self-pub. I discovered this book as part of a free download promo on Amazon and the synopsis grabbed me. I enjoy reading books based in the south during this time period. There are paperback copies available, but the easiest way to read is via kindle download.
This book is beautifully written...just lovely! These characters, Mattie and Lisbeth, are deeply layered and the author does an incredible job bringing them to life and making them realmaking you feel each side of their longing and pain. I ached for Mattie and the sacrifices she was forced to make by leaving her own child to basically be raised by another while she raised Lisbeth. Mattie had no choices in her life. As a mother myself that ripped my heart out.
This book illustrates the power of attachment and how we form our identity not by those who gave birth to us, but by those we are raised by. Our identity is a direct result of those who were our caregivers. Take for example adoption and those raised primarily by nannies. Who does the child seek for comfort and love? It is not the distant or unknown mother, it is the mother that is with them day in and day out raising them. As an adopted child myself Ive always said that biology does not make a parent.
I loved this book and highly recommend it to those who are interested in this period of history. Its a shame this never made it mainstream as a trade paperback.
This book is beautifully written...just lovely! These characters, Mattie and Lisbeth, are deeply layered and the author does an incredible job bringing them to life and making them realmaking you feel each side of their longing and pain. I ached for Mattie and the sacrifices she was forced to make by leaving her own child to basically be raised by another while she raised Lisbeth. Mattie had no choices in her life. As a mother myself that ripped my heart out.
This book illustrates the power of attachment and how we form our identity not by those who gave birth to us, but by those we are raised by. Our identity is a direct result of those who were our caregivers. Take for example adoption and those raised primarily by nannies. Who does the child seek for comfort and love? It is not the distant or unknown mother, it is the mother that is with them day in and day out raising them. As an adopted child myself Ive always said that biology does not make a parent.
I loved this book and highly recommend it to those who are interested in this period of history. Its a shame this never made it mainstream as a trade paperback.
