What do you think?
Rate this book
Cropper
Caleb Muldrow and his wife, Nancy, make a pact the night before their daughter is born. If something ever happens to one of them, the other will raise the child in their home. It seems like an easy thing at the time. Then Caleb finds himself alone in the world with a new-born daughter and a promise he doesn’t know how to keep.
An illiterate sharecropper with no money, no prospects, and no family, no one expects Caleb to raise the child himself. In fact, social mores of the Deep South in 1923 demand that he turn the baby over to a family who can give her a proper upbringing. That course of action would be the easiest one, for sure, but Caleb knows he doesn’t have a choice. With a lot of faith, a little luck, and plenty of help from his neighbors, he sets out to give his daughter a life he never had.
An illiterate sharecropper with no money, no prospects, and no family, no one expects Caleb to raise the child himself. In fact, social mores of the Deep South in 1923 demand that he turn the baby over to a family who can give her a proper upbringing. That course of action would be the easiest one, for sure, but Caleb knows he doesn’t have a choice. With a lot of faith, a little luck, and plenty of help from his neighbors, he sets out to give his daughter a life he never had.
428 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2015
7 people want to read
About the author
Roy Jeffords
2 books54 followersSomewhere in his early thirties, Roy decided he should do something to justify the money his parents and the scholarship committee spent on his English degree. Writing a short story seemed appropriate, so he wrote "Ozymandias". It won an award, so he wrote another one. That one didn't win anything, but it was published, and he wrote more of them. One morning he woke up and realized he'd finally figured out what he wants to do when he grows up. He's been writing ever since.
Roy grew up in the South Carolina swamps and graduated from The Citadel, located in Charleston SC. He and his wife, Rachel, currently live in the Dallas, TX area. Rachel hopes that, in addition to keeping him out of her hair, Roy's writing habit will one day earn enough money for them to retire to the Carolina coast.
In addition to his day job, Roy is working on his third novel and ghost writing a nonfiction project.
Roy grew up in the South Carolina swamps and graduated from The Citadel, located in Charleston SC. He and his wife, Rachel, currently live in the Dallas, TX area. Rachel hopes that, in addition to keeping him out of her hair, Roy's writing habit will one day earn enough money for them to retire to the Carolina coast.
In addition to his day job, Roy is working on his third novel and ghost writing a nonfiction project.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 14, 2015
Fantastic Read!!!
I loved this book! I have to admit I have a bias, I know the author personally, he has been a family friend for a long time. I have to say I have been unfair to my friend and put off reading it because I didn't want to be disappointed. I should've known better, I read his blog and know that he's a talented writer. This book will grab you from the beginning and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to read the sequel, which he is working on now. If you want to get a glimpse of southern life in South Carolina through the eyes of a sharecropper during the early 1900s this is a great way to get it. It's more than that though, this is a story about life that could be set in any genre or generation and it would still grab you and leave you wanting another chapter. The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it ended.
I loved this book! I have to admit I have a bias, I know the author personally, he has been a family friend for a long time. I have to say I have been unfair to my friend and put off reading it because I didn't want to be disappointed. I should've known better, I read his blog and know that he's a talented writer. This book will grab you from the beginning and you won't want to put it down. I can't wait to read the sequel, which he is working on now. If you want to get a glimpse of southern life in South Carolina through the eyes of a sharecropper during the early 1900s this is a great way to get it. It's more than that though, this is a story about life that could be set in any genre or generation and it would still grab you and leave you wanting another chapter. The only thing that disappointed me about this book was that it ended.
August 8, 2015
I loved reading "Cropper"! The book drew me in right from page one. A real life situation set in the South in the early 1900s. Jeffords does a beautiful job of taking the reader to a time and place and yet makes you feel at home there. The story flows well even though it has a few surprising twists and turns to keep you wanting to see what happens next. I did not rush through this book, I savored it.
Reading a few chapters a day, I allowed myself time to get to know the characters and understand the struggles they faced. A wonderful read.
Reading a few chapters a day, I allowed myself time to get to know the characters and understand the struggles they faced. A wonderful read.
May 24, 2015
Heartwarming
Great characters with real life problems in a more innocent time. I read part of Cropper as it was written and knew it would be good. More than met my expectations.
Great characters with real life problems in a more innocent time. I read part of Cropper as it was written and knew it would be good. More than met my expectations.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews