The Planter’s Daughter by Michelle Shocklee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Civil War era stories and this one stands out to me because of its setting. It takes place in Texas. While that state played a part in the Civil War, it doesn’t garner a lot of attention in historical fiction. We tend to get stuck in Gettysburg or Richmond or Savannah and forget that men who died in those places came from long distances to support their cause.
This story actually takes place just prior to the Civil War. The author plunks the reader down on a cotton plantation in Texas. She does a very credible job of balancing truth – which is unseemly to our modern eyes – and compassion in her characters. They aren’t perfect, but people never are. They aren’t stereotypical, which is refreshing.
I understand the next book in the series will be out early next year, and I’m looking forward to it!
Pegg Thomas 