Poisoned Table - Softcover

Cantor, Diane Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0881465461 ISBN 13: 9780881465464

Publisher: Mercer University Press, 2015

Synopsis

THE POISONED TABLE portrays a passionate rivalry between fictional actress Isabel Graves and real-life Shakespearian stage sensation Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble. In this tale of ambition, romance, and betrayal, Graves harbors early resentment, convinced that Kemble's family theatre connections assured Fanny's selection for the lead role in Romeo and Juliet despite Isabel's superior beauty and talent. The novel traces their unconnected adventures and acting careers in the Old and New Worlds, as well as their introduction to the horrors of American slavery and to romance with one of the wealthiest men in America, Pierce Butler, owner of Georgia cotton and rice plantations and master of more than 800 slaves. Kemble, an ardent abolitionist, falls in love with Butler and marries him before she discovers his wealth derives soley from slave labor. Though glad to be separated from plantation life at her husband's Philadelphia home, Kemble agrees to accompany him on his annual visit to inspect his Georgia investments. Butler assures his wife her apprehensions about slavery will be assuaged once she sees firsthand its humane daily operation. Instead, she is sickened and chronicles her visit in Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839. This account, published in England in 1863, is sometimes credited with dissuading Britain from aiding the Confederacy. Within the novel is a play written by Graves' lover. Set on a slave plantation, the plot portrays a dinner at the master's table and the poisonous conditions which produce its bounty, resulting in an attempted murder. In the controversy following this play's opening night, Kemble and Graves are again at odds, and their rivalry continues as they change places on the stage of theatre and of life.

About this title

About the Author:

Diane Michael Cantor was born and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. At Sarah Lawrence College, she studied with writer Grace Paley and poet Jane Cooper. Her plays have been performed in Georgia, and for several years she wrote a weekly serial for the Savannah Morning-News.

Review:

Cantor's debut novel is both a historical account of the Butler Plantation on the Georgia Coast and a deliciously written tale of revenge and justice, or lack there of. Only the reader can decide. Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble, the renowned British actress is brought to life through the author's craft. With the title, THE POISONED TABLE, readers only need to use their imagination. A brilliant new voice in historical Southern fiction. ----Ann Hite, award-winning author of GHOST ON BLACK MOUNTAIN

About this edition

• Publisher: Mercer University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0881465461
• ISBN 13: 9780881465464
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 374