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Review title: Essentially soft porn, and astonishingly dreadful!
Product review: Who knew? The reviews were glowing and the descriptions of the book seemed dull enough to ensure the sort of respectability that clings to serious historical fiction. Oh, but the book is really awful, complete with the beautiful, mixed race house slave (actually the daughter of the plantation owner) stripped bare and publicly lashed because of Mr. March's actions when he was an innocent young peddler. It makes the reader--or this reader--cringe with embarrassment. There's nothing literary about this book; it's along the lines of Robert Penn Warren's terrible novel BAND OF ANGELS. If you're determined to read fiction in this vein go straight to GONE WITH THE WIND, which is, in fact, a serious and pretty successful effort to capture an era. And, while you're at it, pick up a copy of Robert Penn Warren's ALL THE KING'S MEN.
