The Kitchen House by Kathleen
Grissom
Lavinia is a young girl crossing the
Atlantic with her family from Ireland in 1791.
During the sea voyage both her parents die and she is sold as an
indentured servant to a wealthy plantation owner in Virginia. She is sent to work in the kitchen house with
the slaves who tend to the big house.
There Lavinia makes lifelong friendships but her role changes when she returns
after a short absence away as the new lady of the house.
Told from Lavinia’s point of view as
well as Belle’s (the daughter of the plantation owner and a former slave) these
two perspectives tell a heartbreaking story of misunderstandings and
betrayals. It is fascinating to see slavery
and role of women of all races and classes during this time on plantations. Romanticized versions of antebellum life are definitely smashed by the harsh realism presented here. Fans of historical fiction should not miss
this one.
