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Through turbulent Civil War America, she fought for freedom... and the promise of love.With a spirited mix of Yankee pride and fiery independence that was all her own, Sarah MacKenzie vowed never to marry - and pledged herself to the blazing issues of the day. The champion of mill workers and a fierce opponent of slavery, she speaks her mind as well as any man. But when she meets Philip Calvert, as proud and mysterious as his native South, she discovers a desire she has never known. More, she sees in him a kindred spirit, united in the belief that no man should be the slave of another. But only in the face of cataclysmic war does Sarah discover her true courage as a woman, and the awesome power of love.
410 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1987
30 people want to read
About the author
Maura Seger
76 books30 followersMaura Seger was born in 1951. She and her husband, Michael, met while they were both working for the same company. They married after a whirlwind courtship that might have been taken directly from romance novel. She credits her husband's patient support and good humor for helping her fulfill the lifelong dream of being a writer.
Published since 1982, Maura Seger is a prolific novelist, who also wrote under many pseudonyms over time: Maeve Fitzgerald, Anne MacNeill, Jenny Bates, Sara Jennings, Laurel Winslow, Laura Michaels, Laura Hastings, and Josie Litton. She used different pennames to re-invent herself.
She is happily at work on a new novel, because she finds that writing each romance is and adventure filled with fascinating people who never fail to surprise her. When she isn't writing, she keeps busy homeschooling her two children and thinking of new stories. She lives in New England, USA, with her husband, children and menagerie... mostly.
Published since 1982, Maura Seger is a prolific novelist, who also wrote under many pseudonyms over time: Maeve Fitzgerald, Anne MacNeill, Jenny Bates, Sara Jennings, Laurel Winslow, Laura Michaels, Laura Hastings, and Josie Litton. She used different pennames to re-invent herself.
She is happily at work on a new novel, because she finds that writing each romance is and adventure filled with fascinating people who never fail to surprise her. When she isn't writing, she keeps busy homeschooling her two children and thinking of new stories. She lives in New England, USA, with her husband, children and menagerie... mostly.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 23, 2017
Surprisingly enjoyable. :) Hidden gems like this are why I keep plodding through my Low Expectations quest, despite so many DNFs & crappy reads.
Anyway...
It's clear that Ms Seger is comfortable with a compressed storyline; she's written several books for HQN & Tapestry, & her experience shows in that SARAH is a sprawling story which should have (& would have) worked in a much longer format, but despite the years passing & episodic chapters it still flowed together with minimal hiccups. I've been known to DNF solely because of time gaps, but for some reason this book didn't bother me. Go figure. *shrug* It reminded me of the show "Underground" mixed with Charlotte Lamb's SECRETS (another HQN/Worldwide soap) -- family drama splashed with occasional WTFery & a long-term backdrop that carries the time gaps forward. (Also like SECRETS, the gaps became more obvious in the last 75 pgs & downgraded my rating to 4 stars.)
Sarah is the heroine, obviously, but she shares equal pagetime with hero Philip, & overall the story is about the Calverts as a unit. We also get to know Josiah (Sarah's father), Charles (Philip's father), Marcus (Philip's half-brother & a slave), Marcus's wife Ginny, & Sarah's companion Marilee (who later becomes her stepmother). All these characters are well-drawn with good nuance; they do bad things & good things, & they grow considerably throughout, or at least they uncurl enough to change the reader's attitude toward their motivations. There are few true villains (creepy bro Gideon, redneck slave catchers, sadistic plantation master next door) because the protags themselves provide both light & dark. Nicely done. Also, I liked that the slavery issues weren't overly sanitized; Philip knows the system needs to change, but he's torn between a beloved plantation & the march of progress. Likewise, Sarah recognizes the evils of slavery when she marries into a southern family...but also admits the allure of it, & doesn't try to upset the apple cart by changing Calvert Oaks herself.
Fun stuff. I'll definitely continue with this family's story in book 2. Be warned that it's not a romancey-romance; Philip & Sarah first meet when he's about 25 & she's 14, so he pays no nevermind to that gangly daughter of the northerner who buys his cotton for their mills. Pfft. He's got a spoiled belle already waiting, right? ;)
Squick list:
-marital rape/hate!sex between Philip & his first wife
-un-PC language (it's an 1860s plantation, y'all)
-slavery violence
-unreciprocated incesty feelings (WTF, Gideon?)
-brief war gore
-Philip & his dad like going to brothels in Richmond ;)
Anyway...
It's clear that Ms Seger is comfortable with a compressed storyline; she's written several books for HQN & Tapestry, & her experience shows in that SARAH is a sprawling story which should have (& would have) worked in a much longer format, but despite the years passing & episodic chapters it still flowed together with minimal hiccups. I've been known to DNF solely because of time gaps, but for some reason this book didn't bother me. Go figure. *shrug* It reminded me of the show "Underground" mixed with Charlotte Lamb's SECRETS (another HQN/Worldwide soap) -- family drama splashed with occasional WTFery & a long-term backdrop that carries the time gaps forward. (Also like SECRETS, the gaps became more obvious in the last 75 pgs & downgraded my rating to 4 stars.)
Sarah is the heroine, obviously, but she shares equal pagetime with hero Philip, & overall the story is about the Calverts as a unit. We also get to know Josiah (Sarah's father), Charles (Philip's father), Marcus (Philip's half-brother & a slave), Marcus's wife Ginny, & Sarah's companion Marilee (who later becomes her stepmother). All these characters are well-drawn with good nuance; they do bad things & good things, & they grow considerably throughout, or at least they uncurl enough to change the reader's attitude toward their motivations. There are few true villains (creepy bro Gideon, redneck slave catchers, sadistic plantation master next door) because the protags themselves provide both light & dark. Nicely done. Also, I liked that the slavery issues weren't overly sanitized; Philip knows the system needs to change, but he's torn between a beloved plantation & the march of progress. Likewise, Sarah recognizes the evils of slavery when she marries into a southern family...but also admits the allure of it, & doesn't try to upset the apple cart by changing Calvert Oaks herself.
Fun stuff. I'll definitely continue with this family's story in book 2. Be warned that it's not a romancey-romance; Philip & Sarah first meet when he's about 25 & she's 14, so he pays no nevermind to that gangly daughter of the northerner who buys his cotton for their mills. Pfft. He's got a spoiled belle already waiting, right? ;)
Squick list:
-marital rape/hate!sex between Philip & his first wife
-un-PC language (it's an 1860s plantation, y'all)
-slavery violence
-unreciprocated incesty feelings (WTF, Gideon?)
-brief war gore
-Philip & his dad like going to brothels in Richmond ;)
October 18, 2020
1st of a trilogy about the Calvert-Bennington Family. 3 Generations of the Calvert Women from the American Civil War to the Outbreak of World War 1, passion, pride, ambition and love during the ravages of war and continued divide of the Northern and Southern States of America.
This set during the American Civil War a Northern woman and a Southern Gentleman find romance during this heightened time.
This set during the American Civil War a Northern woman and a Southern Gentleman find romance during this heightened time.
October 11, 2014
enjoyed this book
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews