Author Description

From Publishers WeeklyIn this smoothly written, stirring novel, Dubus ( To Love and to Dream ) focuses mainly on one Louisiana family to demonstrate the ravaging effects of the Civil War. In 1860, widower Oliver Cannon, his children Gabriele and Tom and their Aunt Mat live harmoniously at Felicity, a 5000-acre plantation worked by 230 slaves. As acrimony builds alarmingly between the North and the South, the slavery issue divides the Cannons. Fearing that Tom may marry her octaroon slave, Veronique, Aunt Mat refuses to free the girl, despite Gabriele's entreaties. Tom, aided by his friend, Alex St. Cyr, risks everything to help Veronique escape to New Orleans. When war finally erupts, Alex becomes Gabriele's suitor, even as he witnesses the disintegration of his own wealthy family. Oliver's death and the slaves' unrest wrack Felicity, yet nothing creates as much fright and tension as the approach of Union troops. Dubus dramatically reveals the Cannons' turmoil, adding poignancy with her depiction of the erosion of the plantation owners' genteel traditions.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalRomance takes center stage in this novel set against the background of the Civil War. Though raised on a Louisiana plantation, Tom and Gabriele Cannon have had a more liberal upbringing than most, but the coming of war makes it impossible to take a moderate stand. Tom finds himself driven to desperate measures to protect the octoroon slave he loves, while sister Gabriele falls for a man whose loyalties are suspect because of his Northern mother. There's nothing highly original here, but Gabriele is an attractive, feisty heroine and the Civil War setting generates plenty of drama. Buy wherever there is strong demand for romance or historical fiction.- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.