The Fruits of Atterley

by Angela Banks

The Fruits of Atterley is the story of an extraordinary friendship between Gus, the young master of an antebellum South Carolina rice plantation, and Promise, his slave. Gus is the son of Atterley Plantation’s owner, the socially and politically prominent Zachary Riley, and is believed to be destined for greatness. Promise, however, is the lowly offspring of Atterley’s African-born blacksmith, Abraham, and Cora, a former New Orleans prostitute. Gus and Promise are childhood companions, raised and educated together in Atterley’s main house by Rebecca Riley, the plantation’s mistress, and her commanding nurse, Hannah. While Gus chooses a rowdy troop of slave boys as playmates, Promise feels no kinship with Atterley’s slave community and wants nothing more than to grow up to be like her genteel mistress. When Gus and Promise reach adulthood, their friendship is tested as they find themselves torn between their feelings for each other and the roles that Southern society demands they play. With elegant prose and unabashed honesty, Banks paints a vibrant picture of a dynamic plantation community and an uncommon relationship between master and slave complicated by racism, family loyalties, and the political tensions that gripped South Carolina in the years before the Civil War.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2000

Reviews

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fruits of Atterley transports the reader back to the Civil War era and examines the complex interrelationships of the slaves and slave-owning families who reside at the fictional South Carolina rice plantation, Atterley. The novel depicts the social attitudes of the day and cleverly incorporates historical facts, philosophies, and personalities through the adventures of the main characters.

The novel begins with the birth of Augustus (Gus), future heir of Atterley, and Promise (a mulatto slave) and follows them through to adulthood. Gus's father, Zachary Riley, has political ambitions through his dealings with the powerbrokers of yesteryear. We are exposed to some of the more popular viewpoints and rational used by land owners and statesmen to justify South Carolina's succession from the Union and their stand for slavery. Gus's mother (Rebecca) is a genteel Southern Belle who sympathizes with her slaves until the "unthinkable" happens. Gus and Promise grow from childhood playmates to adult lovers only to have their passion doused by the harshness of reality. A terrible scandal ensues, the Civil War erupts, and Atterley and its descendents, like the fruits of its orchards, are left bitter, bland, and mealy.

If you're familiar with novels of this type, the passages on the horrors of slavery will seem familiar because the author thoroughly intermingles the injustices and ugliness of human servitude in the stories of surrounding characters â€" endless back-breaking labor, the beatings, the rapes, the family separation, attempts toward freedom, wrath of the master's wives upon female slave competition, etc. However, one unexpected and somewhat refreshing aspect of this novel is the liberties that Promise and Hannah (another slave) take in their speech and behavior. Even though this is a work of fiction, it seemed as though they were a bit blatant and disrespectful (by yesterday's standards) at times in their actions toward their owners. Promise's educational level and her openly teaching other slave children to read also seemed a bit far fetched but easy to overlook. I would have liked to see other characters developed more but understood it to be a story of the South in a turbulent time and told through the lives of Gus (a white man) and Promise (a female slave).

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading its sequel.

[Tanisa Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting twist to a disturbing facet of our nation's history. Some storylines seemed farfetched, but it was fast-paced and held my interest. Author is a Dallas native and a graduate of UT Austin, gotta support our local talent:)!