 What’s more fun than peeking into someone’s diary and
learning all their secrets? Well, how about an entire novel, written as diary
entries that chronicle the story of a marriage? Henrietta’s Journal is a historical romance. Henrietta is a
20-year-old English girl, raised among the sheltering walls and dreaming spires
of Oxford. In 1832, her diary begins with the first day she meets Julien, a
handsome and wealthy cotton broker from Charleston, South Carolina. The two
could not be more unsuited to one another, but their attraction is immediate
and unbreakable. A whirlwind courtship, a hasty marriage, and a stormy journey
across the Atlantic-–and Henrietta finds herself in a strange new world. Charleston in the 1830s is an insular society
controlled by a small group of families who consider themselves a new
aristocracy of culture, wealth, and refinement. Their public buildings are
modeled on Greek and Roman styles. Their children receive classical educations.
They spend their days recreating the past, while relying on black slaves to do
the hard labor that makes such leisurely white lives possible. As a ruling
social class, they do not welcome outsiders. Henrietta declares she will never be a slave-owner. Julien
replies by agreeing, because in South Carolina, a married woman is not allowed
to own property of any kind. Henrietta tries to hold onto her independence;
Julien and his father will not even allow her to choose the name of her
first-born child. Henrietta’s every word and action are noted down for
criticism and correction. Julien’s younger brother, a lecherous and vicious
drunk, is forgiven for any misdeeds because he is still young. She soon gets
the message. Men may do as they like. Women must do as they are told. The book is a love story, but it also provides a revealing
look into the contradictions and injustices of the South in the years leading
up to the Civil War. The bonds between husband and wife are frequently tested
by their differing value systems. Henrietta soon finds that she has compromised her own beliefs in order to keep the peace
within her disapproving family. Then the principle of compromise takes on a
life of its own, leading her further and further into a world where
prostitution, rape, murder, opium addiction, and kidnapping are all excused as
necessary evils. Want to know more? Pre-order the Kindle edition at https://www.amazon.com/Henriettas-Journal-Compromise-Carolyn-Schriber-ebook/dp/B074S97SVJ
and receive your copy on September 19. (You’ll also save $2.00 off
the liest price if you order before Tuesday.) The Amazon print version should be functional by the
weekend. Or order a trade paper edition at https://www.createspace.com/745653 |
