Isle of Canes

by Elizabeth Shown Mills

Isle of Canes is the epic account of an African-American family in Louisiana that, over four generations and more than 150 years, rose from the chains of slavery to rule the Isle of Canes. Historically accurate and genealogically significant, this first novel by eminent genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills is a gripping tale of racial bias, human conflict, and economic ruin told against the backdrop of colonial Louisiana. This novel is the result of more than thirty years of research. To fuel the story, as well as to maintain historical accuracy, the author found and referenced actual family history documents such as baptism records, manumission papers, probate records, land records, book extracts, and more to reconstruct the lives and times of Francois, Fanny, Coincoin, Augustin, and countless other unforgettable characters. But it takes more than documents on paper and microfilm to bring such an epic story to life. Mills' engaging prose puts flesh on the bones and pulls you into the lives and lifestyle of long-ago Louisiana.""

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, African American

583 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book and all the history and learning more about the struggles of the creoles and slaves. I learned more about how they worked so hard and prospered and with the changes that were happening during the civil war and how it affected everyone. Real lives, real struggles with life and love and living on the land no one wanted. I visited this area many years ago and fell in love with the area, so I was excited to read a historical fiction account of life that happened to build up the area.
This book includes the genealogy of the people it is based on and I often referred back to the charts to keep track of the family line.
It is a thick book, but very easy to get involved in as you are watching this family and their life unfolding in front of you. It describes everything so vividly that you are transported back in time right along with all the people! Great story of inspiration, along with heartache. Your heart will ache for the trials and hard times they suffer through and overcome!

[Diane]

Took back the library book and bought the paperback. It's an interesting history but slow read. Louisiana social history is fascinating. My Sister's husband's family is from there so I do want to come back and finish this book later.
Besides, the author is one of my personal genealogy heroes.

[Sabrina Grotefend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story about early Louisiana settlers and their relations but a challenging read. Some of Mills' professional genealogy reports were easier to digest than this work.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[SusanwithaGoodBook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to get through this, but I was determined to do it because I am truly interested in the history of this place and these people. I grew up in Natchitoches, and the plantations and people of that area have always been fascinating to me with their mix of French, Indian, and African ancestry.

The story is epic, covering four or five generations of one huge family, but the book suffers a bit in over-telling every detail. I think it really needed better editing. It’s really not going to appeal to anyone who isn’t singularly invested in these particular people and their unique time and place. I just can’t see it appealing to a wider audience, unlike the similarly placed, but more modern story “Cane River,” which kept its story to a shorter period of time and one main character throughout.

Anyway, I’m glad I read it, and I learned a great deal I didn’t already know, which surprised me some because I already knew the story of these people fairly well. I can recommend it for those from Natchitoches who wish to get more detail (a LOT more detail) about the people who had a hand in creating that amazing place we love so much.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the true story of the life and times of the people who lived on the Isle of Canes from the time in the 1700's when 2 slaves were brought to southern Louisiana from Africa. It continues through the lives of these part black, part white, part mexican, part Native American people and how they lived through slavery and freedom, from prosperity (while owning slaves themselves) to the devistation of the Civil War, and beyond. With pictures of actual documents found to support the story. I loved this book, even though I got a bit confused, going through so many generations of people. The author does have the genealogy of the population laid out in the front of the book, though, so it was quite easy to get back on track. Loved it!

[Maya B · Rating 3 out of 5]

the author did a great job telling the story of 4 generations of a family from slavery to owning the place in Louisiana. my favorite characters were Francois, Fanny, and Coincoin. some parts were hard to read because the author gave so much detail, I had to read several times to get a full understanding. the character detail held my attention the entire time.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the writing isn't always superb (the book is plagued with odd redundancies), this is a wonderful introduction to the Creole culture of central Louisiana. A brilliant exploration of a little-known piece of American history.

[Adela Shockome · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I visited Melrose Plantation, I saw this book at their gift shop, so I bought it since it had a lot to do with the history of this plantation and the area. I started reading it and after the first chapter I wanted to quit. It dragged… scenes were not to the point, descriptions were mingled with complex words which most I had to look up. Sentences were too long. I had to read many parts twice to understand what was going on. It could have been told more straight to the point and used easier words. The action could have rolled at a faster rate. I give it a 3 star just because the research and illustrations with true historical references were excellent.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this book was almost 600 pages, I thought, oh I'll never get through this. But it was very interesting and entertaining, well written, excellently researched. I grew to love these people--even though this is a novel it is based on real people's lives, thoroughly researched by a great researcher--and I was fascinated by their story. I learned things I never knew about the Creoles who inhabited Louisiana pre and post Civil War. My heart went out to them in their struggles and I cheered for them in their triumphs. Amazing read. I highly recommend it.

[Margaret Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are genealogists; there are historians; and there are novelists. Sometimes two of the three interests combine in a single author's writings, but rarely do all three disciplines meld into a single talent. Elizabeth Shown Mills is that rarity. Long acclaimed for her books of guidance to genealogists (on how to locate, analyze, and cite vital historical records pertinent to our research), by writing Isle of Canes as a fictional story she demonstrates her recognition of the deeper need that drives genealogists: to recover the humanity behind the statistical records left by our ancestors.

All that aside, this book is a great read for its own sake. Perhaps Louisianans know their state's historical origins, but I had only the most superficial impression of its distinctiveness. I have studied early American history from the east coast states to later migrations westward across the continent, but it comes with some embarrassment to realize my lack of appreciation for the struggles of the peoples who created settlements along the marshy southern tributaries of the Mississippi River: first tribal indigenous families, then Spanish Conquistadors, French exiles, Africans imported into slavery, and in time—the subjects of this story—the blending of all this humanity in a shared habitat as their conflicting cultures required them to use every skill in their minds and bodies to defend against—and then learn to respect and sometimes love (or not)—each other AND the ever-increasing flow of new settlers and visitors to their territory.

The story is epic. The author skillfully walks us through overlapping generations, beginning in 1742 with the birth of a slave child who will become a modest matriarch, through social, economic, and political upheaval of Louisiana history as it was lived by her parents, herself and her siblings, then her children, grandchildren, and greats who stumbled along through the American Revolution, the great land purchase by President Jefferson, the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and the aftermath of that war in what came to be called Reconstruction. Her story closes in 1900, seemingly assuming that the reader already knows what would have been the continuing struggle of Cane River people in the twentieth century.

There are so many characters that it sometimes becomes difficult to remember which individuals belong to which particular family. This is helped by a layout of family trees in the book's first pages, to which I referred repeatedly. But it was probably less important to keep the families aligned than to see all of their members as both captives of their time and place, and representative of a wider story of the evolving culture of the American South. Their story was well worth telling, and it is told here very well.

[Mary Thomas]

Great story and so much history about the people and this area of our country

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this was a rough read. Although the story is awesome (and made even better by the fact that it is based on a true story), the writing is quite poor and at the beginning this makes it really hard to read and get into. It gets a little better as the book goes on, but the story itself is rather tedious in nature. I'm giving the story a 4, the book/writing a 2, and therefore it is an overall 3.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like history then this is a great story covering mid-1700's-1900-we were never taught this in schoo!l About the settlers and slaves and the inter-racial mixing of families in Louisiana who were French citizens and therefore, not happy with the US citizens (Anglo) who came in, assuming they were ignorant b/c they didn't speak English. Thank goodness for the family trees because I flipped to them many, many times.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while working on it at Ancestry.com. Isle of Canes is historical fiction, written on the back of extensive genealogical research. An interesting story of a family from the Cane River area.

[Carrie Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Another historical fiction, this tells the story of the colonization and development of what is now Louisiana through generations of a family. I learned so much about this book! It was truly fascinating and so enlightening to learn about this time period.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not an easy read, but it's a wonderful story.

[Lindy Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating - especially if you've visited the plantations in the Natchitoches area. I was surprised to learn the history of the state right next door!

[Heather B Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a true story, but rough to read!

[Lynn Shurden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unless one likes genealogy and history, this is probably not for the general read. I'm still not certain how all of the characters are connected, but it was an interesting story.

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stated this book about 4 times. I made myself finish it. Unless you are fluent in French and there is no wet paint to watch dry, don't waste your time.

[Melanie Stoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic, heartbreaking and hopeful journey. I'll read it again.