Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.
This book is set in the 1700′s on a Virginia tobacco plantation. A guaranteed visual grandeur to be sure, except that this book is not centered around the grandeur, but around the people and settings that make the grandeur so spectacular for us to behold. This story is a story about family first and foremost. Through the family story we learn about the daily lives of the slaves who for all intents and purposes run the plantation.
The characters of this story make a very likable and heart wrenching tale to read about. There was such pride and emotion emanating through the words that you could feel like you were actually there. This story transports you through time to a world very different from the one we live in today. A gut wrenching and horrible way of life for some to have to live.
The main characters actually center around the Kitchen House, which is the heart of the home and story. Almost the entire story revolves around the workings of the kitchen. The secondary characters, some of a most vile nature come in and out the kitchen house to make their appearances and propel the reader to turn to the next page. Even the rich plantation owners have to deal with the interactions of the kitchen for both the good and the bad.
There is nothing about this book that didn’t keep me from putting it down until it was finished. I give this book a 5 star rating.