Set in the Civil War between the years
1850 and 1865, it’s a sweeping saga of the South and the love between two
people who grew up on opposite sides of the slavery issue but with similar
views: our noble hero, Adam Tremain, a blockade running captain, who moved the
Underground Railroad to the sea, and Dulcie Moran, the only daughter of
Savannah's most prosperous slave-breeder.
It is divided into three “books”: Adam (1852-59); Dulcie (1850-1862); and The
Black Swan (1862-1865).
While he was still a teenager, Adam experienced the
hatred of the white slave owners for any who cavorted with the slaves, and he
wanted no part of it. He vowed to become one who sent the slaves north to
freedom. Dulcie, raised as an indulged young woman in the genteel Southern
society by a father who considered the slaves mere animals, couldn’t understand
why the slaves she loved weren’t treated like family.
The characters were well developed and
the imagery vivid. We know exactly what motivated Dulcie and what moves Adam.
We experience their young loves and are not surprised when they are attracted
to each other. They are not so different really; each believes the slaves
should be treated as people, and they lament a society in which they are not. Each
has the courage to fight Southern Society for what they believe is right.
There are some wonderful secondary
characters, including Tom, the aristocrat from New Orleans who married Ullah, a
light colored slave, because he loved her, the families of Adam and Dulcie, and
Adam’s two childhood friends, Beau and Ben, who join him as fellow captains.
Most of this book is “keeper” material,
but in the 3rd “book” the story took a bizarre twist with a
shipwreck, a voodoo island and a disturbed family that holds Dulcie captive. Adam
and Dulcie are separated and both partnered (willingly or unwillingly) with
others. The story finally comes back around for a great close, but you should
be aware of this detour.
For more of Adam and Dulcie’s romance you
have to read the second in the duology, Moss
Rose, set in the Reconstruction Period after the end of the Civil War.
Buy on Amazon (used paper).
I have been eyeing these books for double digit years, but have never read them. They sound wonderful, the sort of sweeping saga we don't see too often these days.
ReplyDeleteSo right, Anna. That is why I still read and review the classics. I love them.
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