The Kitchen House (Book Review)

Title:  The Kitchen House
Author:  Kathleen Grissom
Pages:  368
Genre:  Historical Fiction

Lavinia came to the old plantation indentured to Cap'n James Pyke, who rescued her from a ship after her parents died while still owing him passage.  Her brother, Cardigan, was also rescued, but he was sold off and separated from his little sister.

Upon her arrival at the plantation, she was scared.  Everything set her off on a crying jag, but as she grew up in indentured servitude,she saw nothing of black and white, but rather, the slaves who took her in and taught her became her family.

As she grew older, she still looked at things through the eyes of family, and not black and white, and when she was given social opportunities to establish herself as a lady in the white world, she still thought of the slaves as her family, which did not sit well with her husband.

Belle grew up a slave, but she was always promised her freedom papers from Cap'n Pyke.  His wife, and everyone else, assumed she was the Cap'n's mistress, but in reality, she was his daughter, and he took care of her well, until his death.  Her freedom papers had come, but they were intercepted by the Cap'n's wife and hidden for many years.
This story was told by two different points of view - Lavinia's and Belle's, but I feel it gave a rounded portrayal of what it was like to live in slavery and servitude from the differences of black and white.  They lived similarly, but they were very different, a fact that finally became apparent to Lavinia after she married Marshall, Cap'n Pyke's son.

Still, with all the good and bad going on at the plantation, Lavinia refused to see the slaves as anything less than her family, and she addressed them as such.

I'm not usually given to reading books of this nature, because slavery disgusts me.  It also makes me realize that at that time in history, my own marriage never would've been acceptable.  That said, I'm amazed that the Civil War, of which this book never spoke, is still my favorite period in history.

In any case, I would recommend this book for anyone to read.  I gave it five stars.