In the mid-1800s Mississippi was one of the richest states in the union. The wealthy plantations owners enjoyed an opulent life during this golden age of prosperity. The Vine family owned one of these vast plantations. Hundreds of acres of lush cotton plants covered their property and was home to over three hundred slaves. When Evan Vine's father dies suddenly, he is summoned home from France to manage Vine Manor: a task that he does not relish. It is only when he meets Mary Elizabeth Cates that his life changes forever. She returns his love and accepts his proposal of marriage. As a wedding gift, he presents her with a magnificent summer home called Magnolia. Mary Elizabeth begins the legacy of women who inhabit Magnolia. In this novel, written in a unique style, you will meet and explore the lives of Mary Elizabeth Vine, her daughter; Hallie Vine Simmons, and granddaughters; Mary and Lydia. You will meet the prostitutes who come to Magnolia to seek refuge and the black slave women who have endured the wrath of their masters. Their compelling story will endear itself to you in the detailed profile of the women. Witness the early years when life is good, only to change at a moment's notice by an outbreak of cholera or a slave uprising. There are the middle years when the Civil War tears apart the South leaving tragedy and desolation in its path. Finally . . . the restoration when everyone attempts to find a new life . . . a new life at Magnolia.
About the Author: Originally from St. Louis, Marlene now calls Louisville, Kentucky home. A wife, mother and grandmother, Marlene has a wide range of interests including wildlife rehabilitation and painting. To quote Marlene, "It took me a long time to start writing, but now I never want to stop. The stories just keep on coming. I love to create characters that come alive on the page and stay with you long after you finish the book." It was the tail end of the Great Depression when my mother began having babies. She had five children in five years and five years later, I was born. We were poor ragtag kids who had no idea about television, telephones or inside plumbing. All we had was a radio that picked up two stations. Most of the houses we lived in should have had a sign on the front door that said, "Condemned." We moved around a lot. My father enjoyed his creature comforts, which in his case were women and booze, while we stayed home with mom. We froze in the winter, burned up in the summer, ate lots of fatty meat fried in lard and walked a long way to school every day. We got one pair of shoes each year. They were brown leather, always a size too big so they would last until summer and you could go barefoot. We played outside until dark, wore plastic bags on over our shoes in the snow, and in the summer we swam in the Mississippi River. Cuts, scrapes and bruises from tin cans and glass were treated with Mercurochrome and a pat on the head. We had measles, mumps, whooping cough and chicken pox--and we survived it all. To this day, my imagination is my best friend and creativity is my constant source of inspiration.