The orphan mother : a novel

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Title:

The orphan mother : a novel

Author:

Hicks, Robert, 1951-2022, author.

Edition:

First edition.

Subject Term:

African American women -- Fiction.

Midwives -- Fiction.

Summary:

In the years following the Civil War, Mariah Reddick, former slave to Carrie McGavock--the "Widow of the South"--has quietly built a new life for herself as a midwife to the women of Franklin, Tennessee. But when her ambitious, politically-minded grown son, Theopolis, is murdered, Mariah--no stranger to loss--finds her world once more breaking apart. How could this happen? Who wanted him dead? Mariah's journey to uncover the truth leads her to unexpected people, including George Tole, a recent arrival to town who is fleeing a difficult past of his own. It forces her to confront her own difficult truths. But the conspiracy that resulted in her son's death could run deeper than Mariah had ever imagined, with the fate of Franklin and Tennessee itself hanging in the balance.

Publication Date:

2016

Format:

Book

Language:

English

Available:*

Library	Item Type	Item Barcode	Call Number	Current Location
Searching... Mishawaka Library	Book	33028010594440	Fiction HICKS, Robert	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

An epic account of one remarkable woman's quest for justice from the New York Times bestselling author of The Widow of the South and A Separate Country.

In the years following the Civil War, Mariah Reddick, former slave to Carrie McGavock--the "Widow of the South"--has quietly built a new life for herself as a midwife to the women of Franklin, Tennessee. But when her ambitious, politically minded grown son, Theopolis, is murdered, Mariah--no stranger to loss--finds her world once more breaking apart. How could this happen? Who wanted him dead?
Mariah's journey to uncover the truth leads her to unexpected people--including George Tole, a recent arrival to town, fleeing a difficult past of his own--and forces her to confront the truths of her own past. Brimming with the vivid prose and historical research that has won Robert Hicks recognition as a "master storyteller" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Hicks's (The Widow of the South) latest yarn opens two years after the end of the Civil War, focusing on freed slave Mariah Reddick, a trusted and sought-after midwife in Franklin, Tenn. Mariah now has a grown son, Theopolis, a cobbler with political aspirations. Mariah becomes acquainted with George Tole, a free black New Yorker whose reputation as a sharp-shooting assassin precedes him to Franklin. But George has been coerced by an evil Franklin magistrate, Elijah Dixon, to do his bidding, and when a political rally at which Theopolis tries to take the stage becomes violent, the young man is killed-but it's not clear who killed him. The lives of Mariah and George converge as Mariah seeks retribution and George seeks redemption, each playing a major role in unmasking the latent nastiness among the deeply prejudiced Franklin citizenry. Hicks is a talented storyteller, and this story moves at a clip, but it feels deliberate and inorganic, his characters sometimes seemingly just vehicles moving the story forward. Mariah has lost her only son, yet she shows an unbelievable lack of emotion. The bad guys, while compelling, are amusing caricatures. Only George seems truly flesh and blood, and is the most memorable character. Agent: Jeff Kleinman, Folio Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Freedom and justice are complicated concepts as it is, but add in race, and the stew gets even thicker. Mariah Reddick, a newly freed slave, finds this truth out the hard way when her son, Theopolis, dares to dream beyond the narrow confines of the path laid out for him by virtue of his skin color. Mariah, a successful midwife in Franklin, Tennessee, becomes an orphan mother when her ambitious son is shot at a political rally. In the early days of Reconstruction, justice for blacks might be a dubious concept, but Mariah is determined she will have hers. Aiding her is George Tole, a black man new to town, fleeing from his own fractured past, who uses questionable means to deliver retribution. Mariah's complicated relationship with her former owner, Carrie McGavock, is one of the many highlights of Hicks' (A Separate Country, 2009) engaging, if cloying, and certainly important examination of U.S. history, which is especially revealing in light of the many recent fatal shootings of African Americans. When it comes to freedom, one size does not fit all.--Apte, Poornima Copyright 2016 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Hicks (The Widow of the South) revisits Franklin, TN, with a moving account of a woman transformed by death. Mariah Reddick, emancipated from Carnton plantation, is gaining eminence as a midwife but cannot fathom inclusion in "the world of possibility"; the town in 1867 seethes with disenfranchised Confederates, Reconstruction-funded profiteering, and hostility toward the Negro League. When her politically ambitious son Theopolis is murdered amid orchestrated violence at a local rally, Mariah acquires a new purpose and an ally: emotionally shattered former Union sharpshooter George Tole. Both "orphan" parents with tragic losses to redeem, Mariah and George pursue the conspirators separately-she to extract and expose the truth, he to deliver the consequences his expertise can ensure. Narrator Adenrele Ojo's vocal range adds value to even incidental characters; Ojo especially shines when advancing the story in observant, yarn-spinning mode, allowing Hicks's rich imagery and atmospheric prose to capture listeners in the moment. VERDICT Not only of interest to Widow fans and readers of Southern historical fiction, this memorable tale considers significant contemporary themes of racial politics and inclusion; highly recommended. ["A beautifully rendered portrait for all lovers of Civil War fiction": LJ 8/16 review of the Grand Central hc.]-Linda Sappenfield, Round Rock P.L., TX © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.