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Page from a Tennessee Journal

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 376 ratings · 87 reviews

It is 1913, shortly before the start of the First World War, and Annalaura is alone again. Her gambling, womanizing husband has left the plot they sharecrop in rural Tennessee ? why or for how long she does not know. Without food or money and with her future tied to the fate of the season's tobacco crop, Annalaura struggles to raise her four children. When help comes in th...more

Hardcover, 276 pages

Published March 16th 2010 by AmazonEncore

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Feb 11, 2011 Mocha Girl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, southern-fiction

Howard's wonderful debut, Page From a Tennessee Journal, is not only a testament to her family, but also a revealing peak into a shameful aspect of American history. Although the book is tagged as a work of fiction, its premise and themes reflect the social, political, and racial attitudes and views of the American South in the early twentieth century.

The novel focuses on two couples, one black family with young children and their white landowners, a childless couple who "leases" their acreage u...more Howard's wonderful debut, Page From a Tennessee Journal, is not only a testament to her family, but also a revealing peak into a shameful aspect of American history. Although the book is tagged as a work of fiction, its premise and themes reflect the social, political, and racial attitudes and views of the American South in the early twentieth century.

The novel focuses on two couples, one black family with young children and their white landowners, a childless couple who "leases" their acreage under a sharecropping arrangement. The reader is immediately thrown into this era from the vivid descriptions depicting the harsh farm life, back-breaking, weary work under a relentless sun, and hunger pangs and weakness of the children. The inner dialogues, thoughts and interactions illustrate the social morals and values of the day and it does not take long for the white male landowner to lustfully claim the entrapped, desperate black mother as his concubine in the absence of her wayward husband. This concept of "paramour rights" was a common (and widely accepted) practice at the time; black husbands and white wives were left to accept this "arrangement" as hurt, bitter, angry, often powerless outsiders who had no choice but to tolerate the situation and endure the shame, pain, and embarrassment in silence. Ironically, the book not only illustrated the plight of a certain class of African Americans who were systemically relegated to second-class citizenship; but also illustrates the financial/legal/social subjugation and emotional alienation imposed on white wives along with their frustrations and limitations. The novel gains more momentum when the husband comes home to claim his wife against the white landowner's wishes. History tells us that such an objection could be deadly for the husband and his sons.

The characters were well drawn, the situations were steeped in realism, and the historical aspects, pacing, and dialogue were spot on. I thought the writing was solid and above par for a debut. The only nit (albeit a small one) was with the novel was with the ending; it was a bit too open as I would have liked to have a bit more closure on the fate of the characters.

This book was provided at no cost to the reviewer from the Amazon Vine Voice program.

Reviewed by Phyllis
May 15, 2010
APOOO BookClub (Online)
Nubian Circle Book Club (Orlando, FL) (less)

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May 11, 2011 Hoosier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Francine Thomas Howard should be congratulated for reminding us about the existence of slavery in the post-slavery era. The story begins with a description of Annalaura Welles and her four small children. Annalaura's husband, John, had suddenly left his family before the tobacco crop harvesting had been completed. He took with him most of the family's funds and food. Annalaura and her young children had to subsist on soup made from water and dandelions while spending their days working in the ho...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Angela Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Being interested in all periods of history this book was no exception. The story is set in 1913 in Rural Tennessee and tells the stories of two families. The first family is that of the name Welles, a black family share-cropping tobacco on McNaughton land. Annalaura Welles is in dire straits with her husband disappearing on her and her four children some weeks earlier, the crops are not growing well and their meagre food supplies are running out...Annalaura is desperate and her children are star...more Being interested in all periods of history this book was no exception. The story is set in 1913 in Rural Tennessee and tells the stories of two families. The first family is that of the name Welles, a black family share-cropping tobacco on McNaughton land. Annalaura Welles is in dire straits with her husband disappearing on her and her four children some weeks earlier, the crops are not growing well and their meagre food supplies are running out...Annalaura is desperate and her children are starving.

Alexander McNaughton and his wife Elua Mae have been married for twenty-five years and are childless after she still birthed a baby many years ago. She is emotionally restrained, even afraid to show passion in the bedroom in case her husband thinks her a loose woman. She orders their life to the dot in her house hold ledgers. Alexander is a practical man who owns the land that the Welles family farms and knows that Annalaura's crops cannot be managed without her husband, when he goes to check on their patch of land he finds the tobacco crop not as far along as it should be. Knowing Annalaura to be an unprotected black woman, he decides she is fair game and takes a fancy to her.

Right from the start most of my sympathies gravitated towards Annalaura. Her husband has run off and left her to get on with it, you later find out that her husband has gone to town to earn some money for the family, but with little thought to what his wife and kids left behind will live on without him there. Annalaura does the best she can with her kids to try and bring the tobacco in and is at her last straw. Alexander McNaughton could throw them off his land at any moment.

The men in this story leave you feeling angry at their treatment of their women and especially Alex for me, Annalaura did not want to take up with him but in the end did it to keep a roof over her head and put food in her children's bellies. She dared not go against him and submits to his touch. Alex does many things to improve their lives but something happens to increase Annalaura's shame at what has passed between them. All this time her no good husband is away working in a bawdy house and sleeping with other women while saving to come home. He hardly even thinks about what she might be living on in his absence.

Alex McNaughton treats his wife as less than human, not even thinking what his relationship with Annalaura might do to her or affect their lives. He commits what is the cardinal sin back then and falls in love with Annalaura. Eula Mae is oblivious to this almost until the last few chapters and when she starts to notice their supplies keep coming up short in her book.

Annalaura's husband returns almost a year after he left to find things not as they were and everything goes to hell.

Overall I enjoyed the book, the attention to detail, the social history of the times made you feel like you had travelled back to that time through the pages of the book, but in the end I found the ambiguous ending a little disappointing. Although I did like the thought of Annalaura having more control over her destiny. A good book with sympathetic characters as well as ones that needed a good hiding, lol.
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Sep 29, 2011 Shari Larsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sorry, too tired today to write a totally original review, so I am borrowing a description from Amazon.

Amazon.com Review
"Book Description: In Francine Howard’s stunning debut, Page from a Tennessee Journal, rural Tennessee of 1913 remains an unforgiving place for two couples--one black, the other white--who stumble against the rigid boundaries separating their worlds. When white farmer Alexander McNaughton falters into forbidden love with Annalaura Welles he discovers that he has much more to fe...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Being black in America after the Civil War, even into the 1900s, did not mean you were free. We see the lives of landowner Alex and his relationship with a black sharecropper's wife, Annalaura, whose husband left for about a year. While Alex forced the affair, Annalaura realized this way she and her husband would survive, until her wandering and philandering husband returns home. Unfortunately, Annalaura now has the true love of two men, Alex and her husband. She chooses, but only because one de...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Aarti rated it 4 of 5 stars

Page From a Tennessee Journal revolves around four people. Eula Mae has been married to Alex McNaughton for over twenty years. They have no children, a hole that she feels keenly. She loves her husband, but he hardly pays her any attention. She takes pride in anticipating all his needs and wants. But Eula Mae sometimes wishes that she could be more intimate with her husband; she just doesn't know how to apprise him of that fact without him thinking her too forward or, worse, a hussy.

Annalaura is...more Page From a Tennessee Journal revolves around four people. Eula Mae has been married to Alex McNaughton for over twenty years. They have no children, a hole that she feels keenly. She loves her husband, but he hardly pays her any attention. She takes pride in anticipating all his needs and wants. But Eula Mae sometimes wishes that she could be more intimate with her husband; she just doesn't know how to apprise him of that fact without him thinking her too forward or, worse, a hussy.

Annalaura is a sharecropper on Alexander McNaughton's farm. Her husband, John, left some months ago without a word and now she is desperately trying to feed and clothe her four children on her own, with no money. She doesn't think John will ever return, and she is terrified that McNaughton will turn her out of her home if she doesn't bring in a good tobacco harvest. Sure enough, Alex McNaughton comes to check on her plot's progress, only to find it not performing up to par. He finds Annalaura attractive, though. Very much so. And so he brings her food to feed her children in exchange for spending the night with her. And then he keeps bringing gifts. And keeps spending the night.

Meanwhile, John Welles is in Nashville making as much money as he possibly can so that he can get his family its own farm. This is taking longer than he expects, though, and he is gone for well over a year. When he returns and sees the state of his family, everything begins to unravel. John and Alex must come to terms with their own feelings about their wives and their families, and Annalaura and Eula Mae must decide how to respond to a world that may very well turn on them.

I found both Annalaura and Eula Mae very easy to sympathize with. They were both victims of situations beyond their control, but they never pitied themselves. Each was so strong and dignified and so heartbreakingly realistic about things. In contrast to the women in this story, the men were very hard to sympathize with. I liked both of them, kind of. But I was mostly very ambivalent towards them both. John is charming and seems to believe he is doing what's best for his family (even if what's best for them is starvation for a year while he's off in Nashville). I only began to feel sympathy for the male characters towards the end of the book. Up until then, they both acted so selfishly (and even to the end, Alex seemed pretty delusional) that it was impossible for me to feel any empathy towards them. They never once wondered about how their actions would affect other people, least of all their wives, or what might happen in the future and how it might be dealt with. Alex, especially, was so unaware of the fact that Eula Mae might have feelings while being so concerned about everything having to do with Annalaura that I wanted to hit him. Multiple times. I wanted to hit John, too, but not as hard. The way that the men justify their behavior is painful to my feminist sensibilities.

I liked that Howard wrote this story within the constraints of societal norms without making her characters stereotypical. There wasn't the caricature white villain, or the victimized black woman. Everyone was fleshed out and believable.

Full review at:
http://aartichapati.blogspot.com/2010...(less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Gloria Bernal rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Do not expect a fairy-tale ending. Remember this is the early 1900's in Tennessee. There were no happy endings for anyone in this situation. It was common for white men/landowners to have black mistresses, and often times these women labored on these white men's properties, where they lived with their wives. In this well written but heartbreaking novel, we get an intimate view of what it must've been like for all. For the white wives, who despite what they knew about their straying husbands, kep...more Do not expect a fairy-tale ending. Remember this is the early 1900's in Tennessee. There were no happy endings for anyone in this situation. It was common for white men/landowners to have black mistresses, and often times these women labored on these white men's properties, where they lived with their wives. In this well written but heartbreaking novel, we get an intimate view of what it must've been like for all. For the white wives, who despite what they knew about their straying husbands, kept the home-fires burning, and tended to their duties. They'd pretend to look the other way, and avoid any mention of their spouses indiscretions, even though everyone knew about the "yella" children they sired with black mistresses. They often felt personally responsible, as if somehow they couldn't keep their men satisfied, and yet they were brought up to be inhibited "ladies," not openly demonstrative, even if they wanted to be. The black mistresses also felt the shame and guilt, but for different reasons. Even the children felt the repercussions of such actions, and suffered as a consequence. The author did a good job of portraying the feelings and emotional sides of these issues from each persons point of view. You felt like you knew every character, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If an author can accomplish this for the reader, she has succeeded.

It was easy for me to picture Jada Pinckett-Smith as the lovely Annalaura, with her petite firm body and amber eyes... Cicely Tyson as the fearless Aunt Becky. We get intimately acquainted with John, Annalaura's philandering husband absent a year, while his wife did what she had to do to keep food in her children's mouths. The novel jumps from character to character but is easy to follow.

White men of the day were not always kind to their women, white or black. In this case, the white farmer, Alex, who becomes Annalaura's lover in her husbands absence is a kind-hearted man, albeit naive. He respects women, we can't help but like him, and root for him when he yearns to be a father, and to openly show his love for a woman. Not a simple thing to do in this time of our nation's history, especially if the woman you love is black, and you already have a white devoted wife tending your home. Love can't change things, not in 1913 Tennessee. It just was what it was.

I enjoyed this so much, even though my heart ached for all concerned. I was sad to see it end. I wanted to know what happens to Dolly from that point on, what her life was like. How her addition to the family affected her half-siblings, and what happens to her parents. I hope "Miz Francine" is working on that :)

It was well worth the read at a low kindle price. I hope Ms. Howard will continue to write and I will be on the lookout for any more of her works. Definitely recommended, and I rate it a strong 4+ stars.(less)

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Jun 08, 2011 Judy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Interesting view of slavery-style issues past the turn of the 20th Century. Without a few pertinent references to modern events and inventions, the bulk of this book could have been set in the 1850s cotton-growning Mississippi instead of WWI era Tennessee... Good grief, the mind boggles at how long it took to get over the attitudes, actions, behaviors, beliefs, etc...it's no wonder it took folks like the the Freedom Riders, federal integration of schools, "Miss Jane Pittman" and Rosa Parks to fi...more

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Jul 15, 2010 Trish rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, slavery-jim-crow, historical

The writing style of this novel seems to be typical of the new writers coming out of Writers’ Workshops these days; generic. While the stories and settings are different, the overall style and tone of these new “serious” novels are the same. It’s as if they are all part of an upscale chain of restaurants. The formula seems to be: write prose that are better than average (but nothing too difficult, esoteric, lyrical or original), and write about a serious subject (war, slavery, Jim Crow laws) and...more The writing style of this novel seems to be typical of the new writers coming out of Writers’ Workshops these days; generic. While the stories and settings are different, the overall style and tone of these new “serious” novels are the same. It’s as if they are all part of an upscale chain of restaurants. The formula seems to be: write prose that are better than average (but nothing too difficult, esoteric, lyrical or original), and write about a serious subject (war, slavery, Jim Crow laws) and you will get critical acclaim and sell a lot of books. After reading just a few pages in one of these books I know I am reading a book by an author that was part of a “workshop or writers group.”

Set in 1913 in rural Tennessee, this story is about two couples one white and one African-American. The African American couple, the Welles’, sharecrop on the farm owned by the white couple, the McNaughtons. Trouble brews when the John Welles abandons his wife and 4 children with nary a word and Alex McNaughton falls in love with Annalaura Welles, John’s wife.

While the story held my interest and attention, I did not find the characters all that believable. Alex McNaughton actually believes that his wife will have no problem bringing his black mistress and children into their house to live with them--Really? He is a Southern born and bred man who knows the order of things in the South at the time; not even he could be that obtuse or love-stricken to think this was going to fly. Most of the secondary characters are stereotypical white Southerners. Eula, John’s wife seems to be the most believable character, but she is really not a pivotal character. And I think the hardest thing to swallow is we are led to believe Annalaura is a smart woman, but with the last paragraph of the book I think we have to re-think that notion too.

Between the generic writing style and the less than believable characters I think this book is about 2 ½ stars. I also did not come away from reading this book feeling I had read something original or had any new insights.
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Jun 13, 2011 Kaye rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fabulous book! Being from the south I found the story totally believable and the authors treatment of the characters wonderful. The story is set just after the turn of the century with a white landowner falling in love with a black sharecropper and while it was acceptable to have sex with black women it was taboo to actually love them or at least let it be known that you loved them. This was a time in southern history when women, black and white had very little say over their bodies or lives in...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books

This is a very interesting book from a black woman's view. It takes place in 1914 in Tennessee and you see how different things were then for a black woman who was single or whose husband was not around. AnnaLaura's husband left her just after the tobacco crop they sharecrop for a landowner is in. She has 4 children with the oldest just 12. The owner of the land takes a liking to her and although he treats her well and thinks he is in love with her she knows this can never work. A Lot happens bu...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Kathy Barton rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story was unusual for me - about a black family in the early 1900's that farm 40 acre's of land for a white family on his plantation. You think that things would be better for them, but they are basically not much better off then before slavery. It was very eye opening how they were treated. The husband goes off to Chicago to make some money for the family so they can buy their own land and leaves his wife and 4 kids with nothing. They are expected to harvest the tobacco, but have very litt...more

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May 29, 2010 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Page from a Tennessee Journal tells the story of race and gender relations in 1913 Tennessee through the parallel but intersecting stories of two couples - white landowners Eula and Alex McNaughton and black sharecroppers Annalaura and Joe Welles. The story was emotional, brutal, and tender, highlighting the social structure of the South in that era. The story was more complex than your typical race relations novel because it looked not only at the black-white dynamic and the racism that pervade...more Page from a Tennessee Journal tells the story of race and gender relations in 1913 Tennessee through the parallel but intersecting stories of two couples - white landowners Eula and Alex McNaughton and black sharecroppers Annalaura and Joe Welles. The story was emotional, brutal, and tender, highlighting the social structure of the South in that era. The story was more complex than your typical race relations novel because it looked not only at the black-white dynamic and the racism that pervaded the South 100 years ago, but also women's role in that society. Life was hard for black women, but it wasn't so easy for white women either, who were similarly forced to be subservient to white men and to never ask questions (though they weren't treated as chattel in the same way that black women were treated).

The novel starts out with Annalaura trying to bring in the tobacco crop on the McNaughton's land after her husband Joe has run off without a word. Annalaura is left caring for her four children, ranging in age from 3 to 12 without enough food and in deplorable accomodations. Alex is initially motivated to kick Annalaura and her family off of the land, but finds himself physically attracted to her and rapes her. The novel is romantic in a sense - Alex has no idea that he is doing anything wrong because in his society's standards, a white man has the right to any single black woman - and he actually treats Annalaura well (other than raping her, of course). Meanwhile, Annalaura is plagued with guilt and fear as to her husband's reaction, if he ever returns. However, she learns an important lesson: there is nothing she can do because if a white man sets his sights on a black woman, the black woman has to give the white man what he wants. Alex's wife Eula is suspicious about her husband's increasing expenditures, but knows to never question her husband. Ultimately she also learns an important lesson: a white woman can never question her husband's affair with a black woman. She simply must accept it.

Tennessee life is harsh at this time. It is difficult, at times, to read such overt racism and mysogeny. But Howard does an amazing thing. The characters are all well-rooted in their social and historical context and no character is evil. They simply behave as they are expected to behave in 1913 Tennessee given their social position.

Page From a Tennessee Journal is a difficult read at times, but well worth it. The novel certainly does not romanticize the time, it leaves a realistic picture of what life must have been like and serves as a reminder of how far we have come as a society. 4.5 stars.

[Reviewed for Amazon VINE:](less)

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Dec 07, 2010 Al rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Page from a Tennessee Journal is Francine Howard's debut novel. Set in 1913 in rural Tennessee, where racial, class, and gender roles are fixed in he context of time and place, the author has woven a solid story at the intersection of four people's lives. Their expectations are entitlements of the absence of them, their hopes are few in a sea of hopelessness. The tragic turns are inevitable and this reader took satisfaction from the final spoonful of redemption. Well-drawn characters, authenti...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Scott Loman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Powerful, horrifying, eye-opening. I don't think I've ever understood the plight of the black woman in the south, even as late as 1910, until now. I listened to the book - outstanding narration by Casaundra Freeman. Not only did I get inside the head and heart of the main character, Annalaura, but also her husband, her white lover, and finally the white lover's wife. Although slavery has been abolished for many years, it is still so much a part of the mind and culture of the South, controlling,...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Nancy (NE) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: period-pieces

I have mixed feelings about this book. "Pages" is a story of racial and gender issues in 1913 Tennessee. There were parts I really liked, and others I thought unnecessary. I'm no prude, but some steamy parts felt too close to one of those bodice rippers with a tawdry cover. On the other hand, that might have been when kept me turning pages after alot of heavy somber reading lately! The author tried to break some stereotypes by reversing what could have been cliched plots and characters, but it d...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Yvette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Page from a Tennessee Journal was amazing. Considering the setting of 1913, I was intrigued by the events of the novel. The sharecropper as slave--not in an isolated case, but as a predominant way of life, is a daunting concept articulated so well through Howard's characters.
For those who like The Help, this novel is a great companion from a different historic point that helps to bridge the gap between the Emancipation Proclamation and the '60's and may, in fact, help me to understand how old a...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Adrienne Cregar Jandler rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a stunning, riveting, and heartbreaking pager turner this was! By far one of the best books I've read this year. Set in the early 1900's in Tennessee, this story delves into the complex and sobering lives of a white landowner, his wife, his black female fieldworker who ultimately becomes his mistress, her family and a handful of related characters. The book provides a shocking glimpse into their lives, the hardships each faced, and the very complex relationships they shared.

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May 19, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This was a great book, especially considering this was Ms. Howard's first novel - one that she left a career in pediatric occupational therapy to write. It is about 4 people, their relationships, sharecropping, and post-Civil War Southern life. I really enjoyed reading this, and the writing style was interesting. Ms. Howard used her writing to bring excitement and movement to the denouement of the story, and then slowed it down again, much like a symphony written in words. Lovely.

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Jul 07, 2012 Courtney rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well told story of black sharecropper (Annalaura)apparently abandoned and left with 4 children by husband (John Welles). In struggle for survival she ends in affair with white landowner (Alex McNaughton). Mutual affection follows as does baby. In the end Annalaura has to choose between John who returns to her and Alex. Point of book, I think, is not choice she makes as we do not know that but rather the power she has to make the choice.

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Sep 08, 2011 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book. It really hits home just how powerless a black woman in this time period (Early 1900's)really was. Startling to see how few or non-existant her choices were. Shows race relations and the changing roles and independence of women. The story was a good one, hooked you in and kept your interest until the end. The end unfortunately was left to your imagination- not my favorite ending- but would recommend this book.

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Feb 03, 2011 Jeri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-historical, f-women, kindle

Set in the early 1900's, black woman with 4 children is deserted by her philandering husband. She & her children do all they can to produce a crop but she also gets involved with her employer, a white man, who is kind to her -- but is also married. She becomes pregnant with his child; the wandering husband returns and the rest you need to read....well written and I suspect a very good snapshot of the south at that time.

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Aug 23, 2011 Ann Freeman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Compelling story of a Tennessee black sharecropper woman in 1913-1914 struggling to raise her family while raising tobacco for a white farmer after her husband disappears. The story intertwines the story of the woman and her four children, her absentee husband, the white farmer, the farmer's wife, and various other characters. Race relations, gender relations, and adultery are exposed for all their ugliness during this time period. The story has a quick pace and leaves you turning pages to find...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Lschneier rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ms. Howard takes us back to 1913 and lets the reader into the world of Annalaura, her husband, John, and her 4 children who struggle to earn a living on a Tennessee tobacco farm. When her husband takes off, Annalaura believes he has deserted his family. Annalaura has to give into the sexual advances of her landlord in order to survive.

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Nov 06, 2012 Kassi rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was compelled to read throughout the book until the end when time seemed to fly through the months. I had to re-read the end a couple of times. It just didn't seem very fitting. While I liked the over all writing, I thought there was some disconnect in how she painted some of the characters at the beginning and then how they ended up.

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Feb 15, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Annalaura is a sharecropper with 4 children whose husband has taken off without explanation. She tries to bring in the tobacco crop as promised to the white landowner, but even with the children's help it is impossible. The landowner starts to take an interest in her that isn't very businesslike, and none of their lives are the same again.

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Nov 13, 2010 Gstroud rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book - the perspective of race relations in early 20th century Tennessee. It wasn't glossed over nor was either side completely innocent or vilified. I thought the end was a little odd - kind of abrupt like the author ran out of story line and just ended it, but overall still really enjoyed reading this book.

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Jan 06, 2012 Gerald Heath rated it 2 of 5 stars

Relationships between black sharecroppers and white landowners circa 1913 in the deep south. Much the same message as The Help, but not as high in quality, and much more grim. I read it because it got good reviews, but I didn't come away feeling entertained or enlightened, just depressed.

R for disturbing content.

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Aug 06, 2011 Joni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-fiction

a very fast read, a good title to read set in an earlier time than "The Help". Annalaura Welles is left alone on a sharecropper farm with 4 children to feed and no prospects. A huge indictment of the Jim Crow south and the plight of colored and white women to rise above the injustice of the times.

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Jul 12, 2010 Hadley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: us-history-fiction

I am usually not a fan of multiples voices of narration, but this is a very powerful novel about sharecropping in Tennessee, told from the viewpoints of black and white, rich and poor. It allows the reader to see how the traditions and codes of the time influenced the behavior and choices of all involved.

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About Francine Thomas Howard

One of four entrants in the international Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest to have original manuscripts published by AmazonEncore, Francine Thomas Howard has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area most of her life. She is the author of the historical novel, Page From a Tennessee Journal.
After a career as a pediatric occupational therapist, Ms. Howard is delighted to find an audience for her debut n...more

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