My Mother's Daughter

Eugenia Meijer was frustrated. She was convinced her mother hated her and she could not get along with her sisters. She knew she would never accept the rigid requirements of social life in Philadelphia. When she learned that young men in the Mississippi Territory were looking for brides to bring a touch of elegance to their plantation lives, she could hardly wait to take the next flatboat to Natchez. After all, it was 1812 and at fifteen years old, she was a grown woman living in modern times. What could possibly go wrong?

My Mother's Daughter is a fast-paced, page-turning historical fiction about a mother's daughters, set in an era of southern plantations and slavery. Each woman finds her own way to develop unsuspected inner strengths and the will to change from who they are to who they choose to be.

--Nancy King, author of Opening Gates and other novels at www.nancykingstories.com

From slavery through abolition and women's suffrage, Thaddeus' sweeping story of four generations of mothers and daughters carries the reader away, down the Mississippi River on a keelboat, beneath the tunneling branches of the Natchez Trace, into the shanties and mansions of the Old South, into a bygone time that both unsettles and delights. Thaddeus is a master of atmospheric settings and striking characters who reveal both the sin and the redemption of the American soul.

--Elaine McCullough, Professor Emerita of English, Ferris State University

My Mother's Daughter follows Eugenia and her family through more than a century of changes in the American South. Set around the Natchez Trace in Mississippi in the 19th century, Rebecca Thaddeus makes the entwined familial relationships come alive. From Eugenia's trip from Philadelphia to rural Natchez, to the stories of her children, the plot's well-drawn characters and experiences of slavery and its aftermath are compelling. The story and historical setting stay with the reader long after the book is done.

--Maryanne Heidemann, Co-founder (1981-present) of the No-Name Book Club

Rebecca Thaddeus carefully and brilliantly wrote a story of an adventurous and daring young woman and the challenging times in which she lived.

--Caroline A. Thompson, Teacher Certification Officer, Ferris State University Teacher Education Program

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