Wild, Beautiful, and Free: A Novel

A historical novel that takes us into what it was like to be born of a plantation owner and a slave.

This was a fairly predictable story, especially since it was fairly blatantly borrowed from Jane Eyre. It turned out to be rather sickly sweet, and the last part of the book turned into a Christian fiction treatise, which is not my cup of tea.

A plantation owner in Louisiana was married and had a daughter but he feel in love with one of his slaves. The sleve had a baby, named Jeannette, he and doted on the girl, loved her even more than his daughter from his marriage. He bought books for her and she learned to read. He taught her self respect and self value.

When her father, the plantation owner died, he left land to his two daughters, his wife was jealous, she got nothing. She sold his Jeanette.

The story is mainly the story of Jeanette on her journeys, learning how to teach and her love for man she did not did not dream of sharing her life with.

Some of the writing is very lyrical, beautiful to listen to and I enjoyed that. But sometimes the story veered over to melodrama and ws very predictable. It got so that you knew that everything would turn out good for Jeannette.

Jeannette Bébinn is the daughter of a plantation owner in Louisiana in the 1840s and 1850s. Her black mother, whom her white father enslaved, died during childbirth. Jeannette can “pass” as white. Her father dotes on her and invests in her during her youth, much to the ire of her father’s jealous, white wife. When Jeannette’s father dies suddenly, this wife finds out that her late husband skipped a generation in his will by deeding his land to their daughter (that is, Jeannette’s half-sister) and Jeannette. This enrages the widow, and she sends Jeannette into slavery before the will can be read.

Jeannette’s odyssey unfolds from there and includes such diverse experiences as bonding with slaves, fleeing from slavery to the north, education (both learning and teaching), romantic love, and nursing fallen soldiers. Tales of western Civil War battles play centrally in this tale, and some prominent historical figures play minor roles, too. Not disappointed will be those who appreciate the intertwining of the historical imagery of war and a well-spun tale.

Most prominent is a deep examination of race and love – loving yourself, your family, your lover, and others for who they really are. Jeannette, being half-black and half-white, was considered black by the so-called (and now maligned) “one drop rule.” Yet in appearance, she could “pass” as white. Thus, she has a complex identity, one that she explores throughout her life. She learns to love herself and others. This more modern motif spans the course of the novel. In another more modern theme, Jeannette also learns to be a strong, independent woman who loves a strong, independent man.

Overall, this book provides a “feel good” story that touches on many other relevant, human topics. It never dives so deeply into those other themes that it loses a sense of lightness, but at the same time, it’s no romantic comedy. I like books that integrate multiple themes to make something bigger than any part. If you’re the kind of reader who does, too, this book might be just for you.