The Wedding Gift - Softcover

Bodden, Marlen Suyapa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439255830 ISBN 13: 9781439255834

Publisher: Createspace, 2009

Synopsis

When wealthy plantation owner Cornelius Allen marries off his daughter Clarissa, he presents her with a wedding gift: a young slave woman called Sarah. It just so happens that Sarah is Allen's daughter as well, the product of a long-term sexual relationship with his slave Emmeline. When Clarissa's husband rejects her newborn son as illegitimate and sends Clarissa and Sarah back to the Allens, their return sets in motion a series of events that will destroy the once-powerful family. Told through the alternating view points of Sarah and Theodora Allen, Cornelius's wife, The Wedding Gift shines a glaring light on the brutal world of slavery in the antebellum American South. Marlen Suyapa Bodden's compelling historical novel explores how planters controlled slaves and free women alike, propelling them along a taut social tightrope as they struggled for freedom and autonomy in an oppressive and patriarchal world. The controversial and shocking ending is sure to leave readers aghast.

About this title

Review:

"Bodden’s absorbing page-turner maintains its suspense right up to the final pages, when there’s one last surprise for those hoping for a happy ending." (Sunday Express)

"A powerful and engaging tale of slavery, passion and the quest for freedom." (www.candis.co.uk)

"Stunning debut...Bodden weaves a page-turning tangled web of misogyny, greed, scandal and violence in this powerful story about races colliding against the backdrop of America's darkest era." (Publisher's Weekly starred review)

"As educational as it is compelling...Bodden writes with delicacy...An inspiring read for historical fiction fans, especially those who like strong female narrators." (Booklist)

"Sure to become 2013's sleeper hit..." (Ebony Magazine)

Book Description:

Set in the Deep South pre Gone with the Wind and the Civil War, The Wedding Gift is a compelling story of slavery, abuse, passion and eventual freedom.

About this edition

• Publisher: Createspace
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439255830
• ISBN 13: 9781439255834
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 324