Indigo
by Beverly Jenkins
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Book Summary Information
Author: Beverly JenkinsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-08-22
ISBN: 0595002021
Number of pages: 370
Publisher: iUniverse
Book Reviews of Indigo
Book Review: Loved It!
Summary: 4 Stars
Indigo
I enjoyed this book very much. They primary characters, Galen & Hester(Indigo), were very likeable and endearing.
Galen was a member of the Creoles of Louisiana, he was somewhat estranged from that group, but still had minimal contact with them through his Aunt Racine. He was also involved with the Under Ground Railroad. This is how he and Hester met. Hester's house acts as a station for runaways.
Hester began her life as a slave on an indigo plantation. As a result her hands and feet are purple. She was brought to her Aunt's out of Slavery to the North. Galen is ambushed on one of his trips transporting runaways and winds up being hidden and taken care of by Hester. Hester is a 24-year-old single woman.
Again, as with all of Ms. Beverly works, you get a love story, with a little erotica, and a history lesson. This is not your typical romance novel.
The reason I give this book a four is for the following reasons:
Galen has purchased a house a short distance from Hester's. She drives herself to his house one night with her horse and buggy to discuss the establishment and funding of a school.
"Hester had no trouble driving the relatively short distance to the Folly(Galen's home) in the dark."
However, the following excerpt has her being driven home:
"Luckily for Hester, Maxi, returned, bringing with her the handsome Raymond LeVeq. He grinned at the brooding Galen, then crossed the room to where Hester stood. He bowed low. "Enchante Miss Wyatt, Maxi says you are in need a ride home."
#2 Early on Hester is told that Maxi was there when Galen was born. Later on the same question comes up, which has already been answered.
"Maxi's confident reply wiped away any misgivings Hester may have had over this surprising news. `How long have you been with Galen Maxi?' "
Galen's Tante(Aunt) Racine is a very important aspect of his life. He loves her dearly. Racine lives with her mama, who is a very rich, but difficult and bitter woman. Since at the age of majority, 18, Galen had access to his inheritance. He is free and no longer had to endure grandmama's constant put downs of his origin and his mama marrying outside of her class and a dark skinned man. The question for me is why couldn't he set up Aunt Racine in her own house and make her life better? He now feels that now that grandmere is dead, Aunt Racine is now free. What I gathered from the story that most folks in the family tolerated her, because they need her for financial support.
#3 Ginette is a Creole and was betrothed to Galen as a baby. However, she see him as a brother. However, later on in the story Ms. Beverly says something odd considering if you see a man as your brother. Again, there is some contradiction:
Ginette explains "Galeno and I would have never suited as man and wife. I love him very much, buy he's like a brother to me." Then on page she says "
Those are not very brotherly thoughts.
#4 Hester's ex-fiancée is described early on as being a kind and honorable man. Yet when we finally get to meet him in the book, he is totally the opposite. The vicious and mean spiritedness he directs towards Hester in completely inconsistent with this characterization.
I enjoyed all the cast of characters, i.e. Hester, Galen, Raymond LeVeq, Bea, Ginette, Renaud, Gail, Jenine, Foster, Shoe, the Sheriff, the house with all the secret compartments, etc. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good story and a history lesson, with some steamy erotica. The story is well balanced and enjoyable. I loved it. I own most of Ms. Beverly's book. I know I will re-read not only Indigo, but all of her books. This is saying a lot. I don't buy romance novels.
If I am willing to buy a book and read it, then re-read it, I am hooked.
Love it. Love it!
November 23, 2009
The moment I began reading the first line in Black Pioneers by William Loren Katz of the Blackburns my mind came immediately to a similar scene in Indigo. This why I read Mrs. Beverly.
"That Sunday Black women put into operation their own plan, one that did not rely on ugly weapons. A delegation of African American women visited Mrs. Ruth Blackburn in her cell. Mrs. George French secretly exchanged clothes with Mrs. Blackburn, who then walked out with the delegation. That night Ruth Blackburn was secreted to Canada. When authorities released Mrs. French, she also left for Canada. Detroit's Black women had scored an impressive nonviolent victory.
On Monday crowds of muttering African American men armed with stones, clubs, and pistols milled around the jail. Since white stereotypes cast men of color as weak, fearful, and unassertive, no one paid attention. A Detroit paper said the men at the mail were engaged impulsive or silly posturing, not to be taken seriously.
Later that day Sheriff Wilson decided to order to the jail a horse and cart that would carry Thornton Blackburn to the wharf, where a steamboat would return him to Kentucky. When the prisoner appeared, a seething mob swung into action. Some placed Blackburn on the cart and rode off. When Sheriff Wilson tried to disperse the crowd, he was beaten to the ground, his skull fractured, and some teeth knocked out.
As the sheriff's cart carried Blackburn away, a posse raced in pursuit. It only found the empty wagon. By nightfall, Thornton and Ruth Blackburn were reunited in Canada". Black Pioneers - William Loren Katz
Summary of Indigo
As a child Hester Wyatt escaped slavery, but now the dark skinned beauty is a dedicated member of Michigan's Underground railroad, offering other runaways a chance at the freedom she has learned to love. When one of her fellow conductors brings her an injured man to hide, Hester doesn't hesitate even after she is told about the price on his head. The man in question is the great conductor known as the "Black Daniel" a vital member of the north's Underground railroad network, but Hester finds him so rude and arrogant, she begins to question her vow to hide him.When the injured and beaten Galen Vachon, aka, the Black Daniel awakens in Hester's cellar, he is unprepared for the feisty young conductor providing his care. As a member of one of the wealthiest free Black families in New Orleans, Galen has turned his back on the lavish living he is accustomed to in order to provide freedom to those enslaved in the south. However, as he heals he cannot turn his back on Hester Wyatt. Her innocence fills him like a breath of fresh air and he is determined to make her his, but traitors have to be found, slave catchers have to be routed and Hester's refusal to trust her own heart have to be overcome before she and Galen can find the freedom only love can bring.Hester Wyatt is a free black woman who harbors runaway slaves. Freedom fighter Black Daniel lands badly beaten on her doorstep. Hester finds herself attracted to the arrogant man. Their time together proves short and his goodbye causes her heartache. But not for long. He returns as Galen Vachon, a wealthy man accustomed to getting what he wants, and he loves and wants Hester. He showers her with gifts and attention, but his elite status means he can never marry her. She was once a slave, her stained indigo hands proof of her lowly status. When a slave catcher threatens them both, the Black Daniel comes to her rescue and forever captures her heart. A love story you won't want to miss; it touches the heart and soul.
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