Inspirational Historical Fiction That Will Capture Your Heart
Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.
As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?
Details:
- Title: Under the Tulip Tree
- Author: Michelle Shocklee
- Publisher: Tyndale
- Publication Date: September 8, 2020
- Pages: 400
- Read an Excerpt
My Thoughts
Rena Leland, the daughter of a prominent banker in Nashville is ready to celebrate her sixteenth birthday with an elaborate party. Unfortunately, the stock market crash of 1929 not only effects her party, but her chance of pursuing the writing career she is looking forward to.
Seven years later Rena’s father, who is without a job, is drinking, and her sister has made some bad choices and is unhappily married with children. Rena and her mother are left trying to hold the family together financially and mentally. The problem is that the two don’t quite see eye-to-eye.
Since Rena can’t land the job she desires, she accepts a position interviewing former slaves for Roosevelt’s Federal Writers’ Project. (A federal government project in the U.S. created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression.)
It is working on this project that Rena meets 101-year-old Frankie Washington.
I was captivated by this story and the various ways the Great Depression affected people. Rena’s family, a higher class white family, though poor, still feels it’s extremely important to keep up pretenses. So when they learn that their daughter is going to a place where it isn’t acceptable to be seen, they are appalled. After all, being observed heading to Hell’s Half Acre is apt to cause tongues to wag. But that’s where Rena has to go to conduct her interviews.
Then intertwined is the interview with Frankie. The story she shares is told in smaller print. The two stories blend seamlessly and easily captured my attention.
As Frankie reveals her life as a slave, Rena is aghast at the things she has endured. Though Rena thought she understood slavery and the Civil War, she is learning quite the opposite. In fact, it raises questions that she will need to work through.
The characters in Under the Tulip Tree felt so real. Their emotions were sincere and believable to the point that I could visualize the story as it unfolded.
What Concerned Me
Nothing.
Conclusion
I suppose this might be embarrassing to admit, but this book helped me realize how many gave their lives to stop slavery. Sometimes it feels like the entire USA is blamed for slavery, yet many were willing to fight for the release of slaves. Of course, I knew that fact, but this story brings out so much more. It is beautiful. The writing kept calling for me to read more and more.
Trust me, these characters will win you over, especially Frankie.
I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher through NetGalley, and this review is only my opinion.
Rating
About the Author
Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at michelleshocklee.com.
©Tyndale Publishing
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