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" Georgia, 1842. In this grand and passionate era of American history, forged by the dreams of extraordinary men and women, the McKay, Browning, and Stiles families find themselves experiencing love, hardship, and pain in the great Southern city of Savannah. The willful Natalie Browning Latimer's newfound marital bliss has been threatened by a shattering loss, while the ambitious W. H. Stiles becomes wrapped up in a daring political trail that leads his family into the turmoil of Western Europe. Natalie's brother Jonathan Browning shocks the family by dropping out of Yale to be with the one woman who could never be welcomed into Savannah society. As the families struggle to maintain their deep love for one another, the South struggles to justify its connection to the Union and moves toward succession"--… (more)
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This third installment in the Savannah Quartet has the most fragmented plot structure, but Price weaves her various plot lines together skillfully
Price shows a family/close network of family friends dividing over the issues of states’ rights and slavery. Mark and Caroline Browning are the most compelling example, since Mark, a Northerner by birth and breeding brought up by an abolitionist, is vehemently anti-slavery while Caroline inherited slaves and finds it quite normal to own them. For the sake of marital harmony they manage to avoid the issue, which may seem far-fetched unless you’ve been married for a long time (as I have) to someone who has different views of the world (yep)—you either allow your differences to break the marriage bond, or learn to live with them because your marriage is more important than the issues. Given Mark’s strong feelings about family, I can understand his willingness to stick his head in the sand, even while occasionally wanting to smack both him and Caroline.
And I still want to smack Natalie, who remains self-centered and childish despite personal tragedy. It’s funny how people in a book can annoy you but you’ll keep reading their story anyway.
The Jonathan and Mary plot line seems a little contrived to me, even while it fits in with that general theme of love overcoming differences. I’ve never really been able to get my head around Mary.