Westland
This sequel to Essie’s Roses is set just after the U.S. Civil War. Evie’s mother Katie, now dead, had been the owner of Westland, an Alabama plantation mostly untouched by the war. Essie Mae is a former slave, whom Katie took in and raised as a sister to Evie, and who has a knack for cultivating flowers, especially roses. Both young ladies struggle to overcome physical and mental trauma in their past, Evie at the hands of her cruel father, and Essie who had been kidnapped and raped before the war. They spent the war away from Westland but have now returned to celebrate Katie’s life and make decisions about their futures. Evie’s stepfather James thinks of selling Westland, but legal documents proving ownership are missing and long-buried family secrets begin to complicate the characters’ relationships.
Descriptions, dialogue, and characterizations are wonderful in this novel, but I suffered from not having read Essie’s Roses first. The plot has many references to past events that I struggled to put together. A list of characters to consult would have helped, because people speak of someone else by first or last name alternatively, and I had trouble keeping track of who was who, and their relationships to the others. Still, I enjoyed the character of Delly the housekeeper, a fount of wisdom and pithy sayings, and the touching romance between Essie and Bedford Jarrell. The language of flowers is one of the running themes, and the setting of Westland is a major driver of the plot. Katie’s last letter to Evie introduces another theme: “The key to happiness is forgiveness, forgiving ourselves most of all.” Read Essie’s Roses before Westland for maximum enjoyment.
