"Sister of Mine"

by Sabra Waldfogel

***** Disclaimer:  This is a secular book, containing sexual intimacy.

Description

When two Union soldiers stumble onto a plantation in northern Georgia on a warm May day in 1864, the last thing they expect is to see the Union flag flying high—or to be greeted by a group of freed slaves and their Jewish mistress. Little do they know that this place has an unusual history.

Twelve years prior, Adelaide Mannheim—daughter of Mordecai, the only Jewish planter in the county—was given her own maid, a young slave named Rachel. The two became friends, and soon they discovered a secret: Mordecai was Rachel’s father, too.

As the country moved toward war, Adelaide and Rachel struggled to navigate their newfound sisterhood—from love and resentment to betrayal and, ultimately, forgiveness.

Now, facing these Union soldiers as General Sherman advances nearer, their bond is put to the ultimate test. Will the plantation be spared? Or will everything they’ve lived for be lost?

Revised edition: Previously published as Slave and Sister, this edition of Sister of Mine: A Novel includes editorial revisions.

Biography

Sabra Waldfogel grew up far from the South in Minneapolis. She studied history at Harvard University and received her Ph.D. in American History from the University of Minnesota and since then, has been fascinated by the drama of slavery and freedom in the decades before and after the Civil War.

Her short story "Yemaya" appeared in the Winter 2013 Fiction Issue of Sixfold. Her first novel, "Slave and Sister", which appeared in 2014, has recently been released as "Sister of Mine" by Lake Union Publishing. In her free time, not tired of history, she collects antiques and helps her husband sell them.  

My thoughts ~

Daughter of a Jewish cotton planter, Adelaide develops a friendship with her young personal maid, Rachel. Mordecai Mannheim fathered the half sisters born to different mothers, one Jewish, the other a black slave. The girls became friends, and Adelaide taught Rachel how to read and do numbers. Forbidden to slaves, Rachel's reading and numbers became her advantage as time passed. 

The Civil War is well researched. Varied, but believable characters make up the substance of this book. Life in the mid-1800s is so well delineated that through reading this book, details were realistic and authentic. Civil War history is one of my favorite topics, and this book satisfied my interest on numerous levels.

 

Relationships became tempestuous and intense as forbidden activities develop between main characters. Although I found the book to be a bit slow at times, it is intriguing, passionate and complex. If you love Civil War tales, this one is a very detailed and satisfying read. 

 

Warning: Contains explicit intimate scenes.

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads contest in exchange for my honest review. All expressed opinions are my own, and no monetary compensation was received for this review.