Secret Sins of the Mothers: Revised Edition

By Dorothy K. Morris

Book Overview

What occurred in the past helps to determine our present. Secrets found in an old diary, a love unfulfilled, violence, privations of war...these are the elements of Secret Sins of the Mothers. From 1847 until late in the 20th century the story of Margaret O'Donnell unfolds and we read of the tragedy of this young, innocent girl. We also learn of the impact her life had on her descendants.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1949756327
• ISBN13: 9781949756326
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, Incorporated
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The tragedy of Margaret O'Donnell, in the first volume of the Mockingbird Hill saga

"Secret Sins of the Mothers" is the first of what is now the three-part Mockingbird Hill series written by Dorothy K. Morris, a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Most of this first novel is set in rural South Carolina during the Civil War, but the story is not really about the war. Many of the male characters in the story go off to fight for the Confederacy, but that is to allow the focus to be on the women they leave behind and the relationships they form during a time when survival matters more than class (at least to most people). However, part of the story takes place in the present, among the ancestors of the people we meet in the past. The story starts in the fourth decade of the 19th century when a half-Cherokee Indian by the name of Charlie O'Donnell decides the time has come for a wife. He finds one in Sylvie Sharp, an indentured servant who worked two consecutive contracts because her younger sister died on the ship from England to the United States. The marriage is of convenience and nothing more, and produces a daughter named Margaret for Sylvie's dead sister. But before Margaret is even born in this story, a woman named Elizabeth Perry reads a pair of desperate letters written by Margaret to another Miss Elizabeth from Tally's Nook, South Carolina, on November 30 and December 6 in the year 1864. This is how we are introduced to the mystery that winds its way through Morris' first novel. I am in the habit of taking the book jacket off of a hardcover book like "Secret Sins of the Mothers" and putting it away when I start to read the book without paying attention to the cover art or anything the publishers have to say on the back or the flaps. That was a good thing in this case because the cover art by Vanessa Aeriane Vermond captures the pivotal event that happens at the end of Part 2. I was surprised when this happened, so I was happy that I did not look at the cover and that I ignored the reproduction of the cover art on the title page as well. The same thing applies to the back of the book jacket, which in the first sentence after the title gives away the key things that happens in the novel. I appreciate that readers usually need some sort of hook to get them interested in a new reader, but I had the third book and was not going to read it without reading the previous two novels first. That fact that an author gets to the third volume in a series is a pretty good sign and if you are interested in stories set during and after the Civil War that could be enough to recommend these books as well without knowing the specifics of this tale of mystery and romance. So my advice is to pay not attention to the dust jacket of this book. The other important thing to know is that Morris tells her story briskly. Charlie O'Donnell usually makes his living making turpentine and I know plenty of authors of books like this one that would go to great lengths to work in all of the details of a process like that into a novel (if th

EDITORIAL REVIEW: FACED PACED READ WITH SURPRISES

"The author, who was born in Charleston, S.C., grew up in the low country where most of her story is set. The story takes us back to the mid-1800's, just prior to the Civil War when we meet the young Margaret O'Donnell, a young woman who is the daughter of a half-Cherokee and an Irish mother. The family has a small home on the Parrish plantation, where her father, Charlie, is employed. Her mother, Sylvie, is probably the most sour and unhappy woman you'd ever expect to meet and Margaret tries to stay out of her way(and so does Charlie). When Charlie goes off to war, Margaret steps up to fill his shoes, bringing home game for the two of them to eat. She also is asked to come over to the Grenville plantation to read to the owner's daughter, Elizabeth Perry. Elizabeth and Margaret form a close relationship, so close that Margaret feels that Elizabeth is the only one she can turn to when the unthinkable happens. The story jumps back and forth from the present to the past, but that doesn't cloud the issue. In the present, Elizabeth Wilson, a descendent of the Perry family, finds an old letter in her mother's trunk. The letter leads her on a quest for answers about the family and about herself. This is a pretty fast-paced read with a couple of surprises thrown in along the way."

Secret Sins of the Mothers

Great! I am an avid reader and Louis L'Amour is my favorite author. Ms. Morris' writing reminds me of him, in that her plot and characters are not complicated and I feel as if I am with them, observing all that is happening. This book is easy to read, has an interesting plot and compelling characters. I can especially relate to Charlie. I was born and raised in the low country of South Carolina (Bethera, right in the middle of Hell Hole Swamp). My uncle managed a turpentine plantation during the 1930s and I worked with him several summers, helping to blaze the trees and gather the sap. I am waiting (impatiently) for Ms. Morris' next book. Turn off the TV and pick up this book for an entertaining evening!

Pick it up...can't put it down!

From Lannette B. Steed (boat5050@charleston.net), January 10, 2000, Ms. Morris captures your attention right away in such a fashion you have to keep reading. You go easily from one generation to the other. You follow the ancestor's lives without trouble as you've gotten to know them well. There are so many emotions that are interesting and thrilling. Artfully done in taking you from the Civil War era to present times. A story well written. Hopefully Ms. Morris will have more for us.