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| Return to Shirley Plantation by Carrie Fancett Pagels |
Endorsement
by Lisa Norato:
I
was hooked by the first line with the beautiful writing. The story itself
quickly reeled me in with the conflicts of its two, endearing, main characters.
Carrie Fancett Pagels makes history come alive with her words and brings her
southern setting to life so that I felt I was right there on a gorgeous
Virginia plantation in the midst of the Civil War.
It
is 1862 and thespian Matthew Scott is abducted from Ohio and the theater troupe
he manages. He is conscripted against his will into serving with the
Confederate army because of his father's political leanings. He is not a
soldier and feels lost and out of place as he follows the troops to Shirley
Plantation in Virginia. There he meets the lovely Angelina Rose and begins to
feel some hope and the stirrings of love. With her fair skin, Matt does not
know Angie is a freed slave of mixed race. She was given an opportunity to
leave the south and start a new life for herself, but she did not take it
because she has been working as a seamstress to earn the freedom of her
deceased sister's illegitimate twins. Matt knows nothing of this. He only knows
that he is falling in love with a mysterious woman, and there is something very
suspicious about his father's claims of having no family.
A
lot of story is packed into this beautiful, redemptive novella. It was a pure
joy to read and reminded me of why I love reading historical romance novels!
(CFP: I am grateful to Lisa for giving me my first author endorsement for my debut novella! Lisa is a stellar author and so her words are especially appreciated!)