The Orphan Mother: A Novel

by Robert Hicks

Overview

An epic account of one remarkable woman's quest for justice for her son after the Civil War from the New York Times bestselling author and "master storyteller" of The Widow of the South (San Francisco Chronicle).


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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446581677
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Robert Hicks is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Widow of the South and A Separate Country. He lives in Tennessee.

Hometown:

Franklin, Tennessee

Date of Birth:

January 30, 1951

Place of Birth:

West Palm Beach, Forida

Website:

http://www.robert-hicks.com

Editorial Reviews

"Speaks to timely questions about cultural appropriation... eloquent and subtle insights into the struggles of motherhood, relationships and loss."—Atlanta Journal Constitution

"Offers a story of race and redemption...compelling...In Mariah, Hicks has created a strong and noble soul."—Fort Worth Star Telegram

"THE ORPHAN MOTHER resonates with readers on many levels-as a compelling novel documenting the violent years of Reconstruction, as a heartfelt story of the inner strengths unearthed by a mother confronted with unspeakable sorrow, and as a memorable testament to friendships between young and old, male and female, black and white. The latter offers perhaps a ray of hope in these times of racial injustice we readers are still experiencing, 150 years after the events of this gripping and timely novel."—Bookpage

"Hick's bittersweet novel reveals a woman discovering a new sense of self in slavery's aftermath... A beautifully rendered portrait for all lovers of Civil War fiction."—Library Journal

"A novel about family and friendship and the boundaries of obligation and loyalty. It's about the power of knowledge and the temptation of revenge, about the psychic and social implications of the end of slavery in a racially unjust society. Filled with beautiful dialogue and finely-wrought characters, the novel is a must-read."—Chapter 16

"When you finish THE ORPHAN MOTHER, Hicks's words seep into your soul."—Franklin Homepage

"Hicks is a talented storyteller and this story moves at a clip."—Publishers Weekly

"A fascinating continuation to the saga, THE ORPHAN MOTHERis a historical beauty."—Read It Forward

From the Publisher

2016-06-19
Hicks (A Separate Country, 2009, etc.) extends his Tennessee-set historical saga into the years immediately following the Civil War.The Reconstruction Era was one of the messiest times in American history, not least because establishing civil and political rights for African-Americans newly freed from slavery was left unfinished for another century. That turmoil forms the setting for Hicks' latest, located, as was its predecessor volume, in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. Formerly a slave in the household of Carrie McGavock, the widow of Hicks' title, Mariah Reddick has long been renowned as a midwife, and in this work she has built up both property holdings and local esteem. Her son, Theopolis, has empire-building desires of his own that earn him a bullet and Mariah endless suffering; Carrie assures Mariah that "he was a special boy," but that does nothing to ease the pain except to establish yet another bond between the two women, one forged in "grief and rage so inarticulate and so elemental that [Mariah] would come to rely upon it, like a cane or an extra toe, to give her balance." Now the question is to find out who wanted Theopolis dead, and why. There is no shortage of suspects among the dispossessed planters and crofters "made poor and small by Reconstruction, their punishment for opposing the Republicans and fighting for the Confederacy." The villain of the piece has murkier motives still, but Hicks nicely complicates what otherwise is a historical potboiler with the arrival of a soft-spoken African-American sleuth who digs into the mystery while nursing griefs of his own. Tole has reasons for going after the conspirators who murdered Theopolis, and though Carrie assures Mariah that as the town's midwife "you're the mother of everyone in Franklin," it's a hailstorm of avenging bullets and not kind words that makes this engaging novel pop.Satisfying historical fiction, of particular appeal to readers who live near the banks of the Harpeth or Cumberland.

Kirkus Reviews