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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Historical fiction like The Indigo Girl that tells the story about a person in history that has actually excisted is my absolute favorite to read. Especially if they are about women who accomplished amazing things, like Eliza Lucas.
Starting the book I knew nothing at all about her but I'm now so glad that Natasha Boyd wrote about this book. It made me want to find out even more about Eliza's life. I'm so fascinated by her right now.
I absolutely loved Eliza. And they way the author wrote her. Eliza was ahead of her time and I just loved her courage and ambition and how in the end she never did give up on making indigo dye, even though people kept telling her she wouldn't be able to and even sabotaged her. She was a bit naive, it's true but that made her spirit even more lively and I was really rooting for her to succeed.
Overall, The Indigo Girl ended up being my favorite book by Natasha Boyd so far and even one of my top favorite historical novels. I loved how well-researched the story was and that it was based on historical documents. The writing was amazing and I really liked reading the excerpts from Eliza's actual letters. They gave it all a little extra and made it even more enjoyable.
Starting the book I knew nothing at all about her but I'm now so glad that Natasha Boyd wrote about this book. It made me want to find out even more about Eliza's life. I'm so fascinated by her right now.
I absolutely loved Eliza. And they way the author wrote her. Eliza was ahead of her time and I just loved her courage and ambition and how in the end she never did give up on making indigo dye, even though people kept telling her she wouldn't be able to and even sabotaged her. She was a bit naive, it's true but that made her spirit even more lively and I was really rooting for her to succeed.
Overall, The Indigo Girl ended up being my favorite book by Natasha Boyd so far and even one of my top favorite historical novels. I loved how well-researched the story was and that it was based on historical documents. The writing was amazing and I really liked reading the excerpts from Eliza's actual letters. They gave it all a little extra and made it even more enjoyable.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content warning: birth trauma, sexual abuse
Honestly ashamed I even read this book and horrified with what I did read. The book is a whitewashed, white sympathizing romanticism of colonial-era America. The enslaved people are depicted as savage threats to landowners, and the "happy ending" is the white woman's monetary success made possible solely because of the botanic knowledge of her unpaid enslaved people.
This book could have been a story of female empowerment, the making of indigo dye, or the revolutionary trade of knowledge between enslaved people and Southern plantation owners. Instead, the last fourth of the book decided it was a poorly-concocted romance novel that completely throws out any lessons to be learned by Eliza, the main character, about the dehumanizing enslaved peoples and using their free labor for material gain.
Eliza is supposed to be a good plantation owner because she doesn't approve of the whipping post. But she approves of just about every other aspect of slavery. She certainly does not approve of enslaved people running away, nor their anger about oh, I don't know, being enslaved!
The worst example is in her treatment of her enslaved woman, Sarah. Sarah is cold towards Eliza and ruins their first attempt at making indigo. It is clear Sarah is upset because she a) is an enslaved human being who has been ripped from her home, b) has been sexually abused by her male landowner, c) has a child with this landowner for whom she has to take care and d) is not impressed with Eliza's white-savior complex waltzing in to move Sarah and her child to a different plantation so that Eliza can profit off of Sarah's knowledge of Indigo making at Sarah's expense. Sarah is rightfully furious, and all Eliza can think is why is she so mad at me? *wimpy puppy eyes*
BITCH I DON'T KNOW THINK IT THROUGH.
This relationship is never rectified. And it COULD HAVE BEEN because Boyd admits that within this historical fiction Sarah is a fictional character! Instead, Boyd's message appears to be that slaves should be nice, and if they can't be, they should be dehumanized even further. The story concludes with, in Eliza's eyes, Sarah's rightfully broken spirit as she becomes docile and accepting of her enslavement. This comes after Sarah suffers a brutal miscarriage and Eliza says "perhaps her defiance had bled out of her along with her baby" (p.267). It is fucking sick.
Their final encounter comes when a tearful Sarah apologizes to Eliza in her study. Sarah quite literally bows down to Eliza in apology, and Eliza walks out on her in anger, calling Sarah's actions "dramatic and uncomfortable" (p.295). That's it. That's how the story of their relationship ends. Eliza shows no remorse and Sarah is left a broken, saddened, enslaved woman.
At one point, Eliza has the gall to tell an enslaved man that he is taking her freedom from her. Because he is trying to gain his freedom. Out of enslavement. And at this moment, a wealthy, white, plantation-owning woman looks an enslaved man in the eyes and says "you were closer to freedom than I ever was" (p.249). I ---
Additionally, she describes those slaves who attempted rebellion as making "calls like the sounds of animals" and having "a spirit of threat and malevolence" about them (p.284). No shit baby boo, you'd be pissed too.
And finally, the climax of the plot. Could have centered around anything other than what it did. A final indigo crop. The things they make with the indigo crop. Reconciliation between Sarah and Eliza with Eliza recognizing the need to treat Sarah with respect.
Instead, THE CLIMAX OF THE BOOK IS THE RACE FOR A RUNAWAY SLAVE. And the MORAL OF THE CLIMAX is that "good" slaves don't join slave rebellions or runaway for their freedom. Eliza's enslaved person is let out of jail because of his "good" character: a lifetime of submission to his owners. Then Eliza marries her lawyer friend and they live happily ever after profiting off of enslaved lands.
Unfortunately, that's about how the ending went in real life, too. Eliza Lucas Pinkney was an impressive woman for running a business in her father's absence at a time when women didn't run businesses. But the buck stops there. She was a business owner who continued the practice of enslaving people in this country. Boyd tries to argue the benevolent legacy of Eliza's son, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who "did much to shape the educational and cultural institutions within South Carolina," including his role at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as a representative of South Carolina.
What Boyd doesn't write is that Charles was integral to the preservation of fugitive slave laws in this country as well as defending states' "needs" to import enslaved people and utilize them for state profits. THAT was his role in federal and South Carolinian politics.
Absolutely not. Nope. I'm done.
Honestly ashamed I even read this book and horrified with what I did read. The book is a whitewashed, white sympathizing romanticism of colonial-era America. The enslaved people are depicted as savage threats to landowners, and the "happy ending" is the white woman's monetary success made possible solely because of the botanic knowledge of her unpaid enslaved people.
This book could have been a story of female empowerment, the making of indigo dye, or the revolutionary trade of knowledge between enslaved people and Southern plantation owners. Instead, the last fourth of the book decided it was a poorly-concocted romance novel that completely throws out any lessons to be learned by Eliza, the main character, about the dehumanizing enslaved peoples and using their free labor for material gain.
Eliza is supposed to be a good plantation owner because she doesn't approve of the whipping post. But she approves of just about every other aspect of slavery. She certainly does not approve of enslaved people running away, nor their anger about oh, I don't know, being enslaved!
The worst example is in her treatment of her enslaved woman, Sarah. Sarah is cold towards Eliza and ruins their first attempt at making indigo. It is clear Sarah is upset because she a) is an enslaved human being who has been ripped from her home, b) has been sexually abused by her male landowner, c) has a child with this landowner for whom she has to take care and d) is not impressed with Eliza's white-savior complex waltzing in to move Sarah and her child to a different plantation so that Eliza can profit off of Sarah's knowledge of Indigo making at Sarah's expense. Sarah is rightfully furious, and all Eliza can think is why is she so mad at me? *wimpy puppy eyes*
BITCH I DON'T KNOW THINK IT THROUGH.
This relationship is never rectified. And it COULD HAVE BEEN because Boyd admits that within this historical fiction Sarah is a fictional character! Instead, Boyd's message appears to be that slaves should be nice, and if they can't be, they should be dehumanized even further. The story concludes with, in Eliza's eyes, Sarah's rightfully broken spirit as she becomes docile and accepting of her enslavement. This comes after Sarah suffers a brutal miscarriage and Eliza says "perhaps her defiance had bled out of her along with her baby" (p.267). It is fucking sick.
Their final encounter comes when a tearful Sarah apologizes to Eliza in her study. Sarah quite literally bows down to Eliza in apology, and Eliza walks out on her in anger, calling Sarah's actions "dramatic and uncomfortable" (p.295). That's it. That's how the story of their relationship ends. Eliza shows no remorse and Sarah is left a broken, saddened, enslaved woman.
At one point, Eliza has the gall to tell an enslaved man that he is taking her freedom from her. Because he is trying to gain his freedom. Out of enslavement. And at this moment, a wealthy, white, plantation-owning woman looks an enslaved man in the eyes and says "you were closer to freedom than I ever was" (p.249). I ---
Additionally, she describes those slaves who attempted rebellion as making "calls like the sounds of animals" and having "a spirit of threat and malevolence" about them (p.284). No shit baby boo, you'd be pissed too.
And finally, the climax of the plot. Could have centered around anything other than what it did. A final indigo crop. The things they make with the indigo crop. Reconciliation between Sarah and Eliza with Eliza recognizing the need to treat Sarah with respect.
Instead, THE CLIMAX OF THE BOOK IS THE RACE FOR A RUNAWAY SLAVE. And the MORAL OF THE CLIMAX is that "good" slaves don't join slave rebellions or runaway for their freedom. Eliza's enslaved person is let out of jail because of his "good" character: a lifetime of submission to his owners. Then Eliza marries her lawyer friend and they live happily ever after profiting off of enslaved lands.
Unfortunately, that's about how the ending went in real life, too. Eliza Lucas Pinkney was an impressive woman for running a business in her father's absence at a time when women didn't run businesses. But the buck stops there. She was a business owner who continued the practice of enslaving people in this country. Boyd tries to argue the benevolent legacy of Eliza's son, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who "did much to shape the educational and cultural institutions within South Carolina," including his role at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 as a representative of South Carolina.
What Boyd doesn't write is that Charles was integral to the preservation of fugitive slave laws in this country as well as defending states' "needs" to import enslaved people and utilize them for state profits. THAT was his role in federal and South Carolinian politics.
Absolutely not. Nope. I'm done.
Engrossing recounting of the life of one of history's little-known heroines. The author created an entire world from the writings Eliza left behind, and invites the reader to step into that world and witness Eliza's story unfolding. If you do not know much about Eliza, I recommend reading this without doing any research (or Googling) first or along the way, as it will allow you to enjoy the surprises Eliza's story holds without spoilers. The audiobooks is particularly well done, and amplified my enjoyment of the story more than I thought it would.
An excellent read and fascinating story! I had no idea indigo was such a thing back then or that it was so complicated either. I feel lucky to have discovered this bit of history! This book sucked me in- I read it in one day and it's been a while since a book has done that for me!
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Such a beautiful book. Eliza Lucas is truly a woman to teach lessons to all women around the world.
Going into this book, I didn't know it was a true story, until I read a review which stated otherwise. Thinking about all the hardship that Eliza went through should be motivating to any person who would read her story. I didn't think it would have this effect on me, coming to the end. I'm glad I read it.
Going into this book, I didn't know it was a true story, until I read a review which stated otherwise. Thinking about all the hardship that Eliza went through should be motivating to any person who would read her story. I didn't think it would have this effect on me, coming to the end. I'm glad I read it.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes