A Sitting in St. James, (Hardcover)

A Sitting in St. James is a powerful historical novel set in 1860 in the St. James Parrish in what is now Louisiana. It is meticulously and carefully researched and the writing is beautiful and lyrical. The rural Louisiana setting is lush and atmospheric. The setting is a struggling southern sugar cane plantation during the time of slavery. The Guilbert family are the white plantation owners, headed by their matriarch Madame Sylvie, the daughter of a prominent French family, who was connected to Marie Antionette. Integral to the story are the black slaves owned by the family and individuals of mixed race, on the plantation and in the community. The events in the story take place over decades and lead to the unveiling of a portrait of Madame Sylvie, something which she desires to appease her pride and feed her hunger for social status. The characters and storylines are myriad, well-developed and complex. The author skillfully portrays how the characters think and feel, and what motivates them. The character of Thisbe, Madame Sylvie's personal slave who was taken from her family as a young girl and named for Marie Antionette's dog, is brilliantly depicted and a central heroine of the story. The unveiling of the portrait is accompanied by a dramatic denouement as the various characters' stories reach their resolution. This book contains descriptions of degradation, violence, cruelty, sexual assault and abuse, making it very difficult to read at times; yet, one must bear witness to the horrors of slavery and not turn away. Atrocities occur when people are regarded as less than human. A Sitting in St. James helps us understand the origins and persistence of racism and white privilege. Thank you to BookSparks for the opportunity to read this brilliant and important masterpiece.