THE BOOK FAIR
READ AND FULFILL YOUR LIFE
Kathleen Grissom
The
KITCHEN
HOUSE
Author: Kathleen Grissom
Published: 2010
Genre: Historical Fiction
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 368
Review:
"The Kitchen House", Grissom's historical fiction novel of a tobacco yielding, slave plantation in southern Virginia during the years of 1791 to 1810, is told through the eyes of Lavinia, an indentured, white slave girl and Belle, a black slave woman.
Fresh off the ship from Ireland, seven-year old Lavinia meets the Negroe slaves, who reside in the kitchen house and will become her family.
Belle, the daughter of Captain James Pyke, holds a special place in her father’s heart, her mother a former slave and the love of his life. Mrs. Pyke, the Captain’s mother, raised Belle as her own grandchild.
After the death of Belle’s mother, the Captain remarried a young woman, Miss Martha, half his age who bore him two children, Marshall and Sally who become immediately fond of Lavinia.
Lavinia, comfortable with the slaves, sees herself as one of them.
The Captain, often away on business, believes Marshall needs instruction, so hires a man to tutor him.
When older, both Lavinia and Marshall leave home for the university then years later, return to the plantation.
Grissom offers an intense, fascinating, realistic story of slavery and plantation life. The seamlessly written novel slowly intensifies as the book progresses, the descriptive, characters portrayed as either, good, bad, or ugly. Noteworthy is the plight of indentured servants which is often ignored.
The author states her interest in writing the book came with their restoration of an old plantation tavern in Virginia, and an old map with a notation of Negroe Hill. The author is originally from Canada.
GLORY
OVER
EVERYTHING
Author: Kathleen Grissom
Published: 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Cover: Paperback
Pages: 400
Descriptive and well written, the novel of the early 1800’s portrays a realistic view of the horrors of slavery in the American South, and the evils of prejudice. The novel focuses on James Sykes, the illegitimate son of Marshall Sykes and the slave woman, Belle. The novel refers to, “The Kitchen House,” for continuity, but stands on its own.
The three-fold plot involves James secreting his past during his precarious climb of the social ladder in Philadelphia’s high society, the forbidden love story between Caroline and James, and James’s obligation to Pan, the kidnapped son of Henry, a former slave.
Interestingly, Grissom expands on characters from “The Kitchen House,” while advancing the plot of “Glory Over Everything.” The author descriptively presents the decorum of the day, central to the plot.
James, forever fearful of his secrets made known, views the decisions he makes through the lens of consequence for himself and those he loves. The story moves back and forth in time and is told through the voices of James, Caroline, Pan and Sukey, a black woman who tells of her life as a slave, the loss of her boys who were sold, and reveals the lives of other slaves whom she worked alongside.
Well-developed characters abound in this novel, those who would own slaves, those who would trade slaves, those would hunt runaway slaves, and those who would risk all to save slaves and spur them to freedom.