Saturday, July 7, 2018

From Inside My Book Fort - - - Anne Rivers Siddons' "Colony"



Welcome to the book fort!





Annabelle and I welcome you to another day in the book fort.

We're reading another excerpt from another of our favorite books by another one of our all-time favorite authors.


Anne Rivers Siddons.


I'm not sure we'll ever see any more books from Ms. Siddons; probably not.


But those that she's written will stand the test of time and will remain modern southern classics.


Colony

"An unforgettable story of love, acceptance, and tradition.
When Maude Chambliss first arrives at Retreat, the seasonal home of her husband's aristocratic family, she is a nineteen-year-old bride fresh from South Carolina's Low Country. Among the patrician men and women who reside in the summer colony on the coast of Maine, her gypsy-like beauty and impulsive behavior immediately brand her an outsider. She, as well as everyone else, is certain she will never fit in. And of course, she doesn't...at first.
But over the many summers she spends there, Maude comes to cherish life in the colony, as she does the people who share it with her. There is her husband Peter, consumed with a darkness of spirit; her adored but dangerously fragile children; her domineering mother-in-law, who teaches her that it is the women who posses the strength to keep the colony intact; and Maine native Micah Willis, who is ultimately Maude's truest friend.
This brilliant novel, rich with emotion, is filled with appealing, intense, and indomitable characters. Anne Rivers Siddons paints a portrait of a woman determined to preserve the spirit of past generations--and the future of a place where she became who she is...a place called Colony."

"An outstanding multigenerational novel...We are hooked from the moment we meet Maude."
The New York Times








7 comments:

Dotty Settler said...

I always thought Elizabeth ‘s baby was Peter’s , I must read this book again , it probably will be my 6th time , love love this book !

elsietee said...

To Dotty Settler: I am reading "Colony" now, and I thought the same thing!

elsietee said...

Is there a way to leave a message somewhere that Ms Siddons will actually be able to read?

Dotty Settler said...

I would love to get some clarification on Elizabeth ‘s baby father . I picked this book for a book club read , on purpose to maybe get the answer and no one seemed to know what I was talking about . Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get the answer from the author herself !!!!!

Dotty Settler said...

How come my second comment wasn’t posted ? I was hoping the author could shed some light on the parentage of Elizabeth ‘s baby ! I chose this book for my book club and mentioned my theory and they all thought I was crazy .

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

Dotty, there is a note which you missed posted directly above the comment section which explains that I have comments set to be moderated before they are published. That means I have to see the comment, and then publish it. or not. Since I don't spend every minute in front of my computer, it sometimes takes a few days for me to get around to moderating and publishing (or not) the comments.

The chances of Anne Rivers Siddons ever seeing my blog or your comments is slim to none. Sorry.

Vmlincoln said...

I have read Colony over twenty times since it first came out as it always reminds me of our summer house in NH, very near to where Maude and Peter lived during the winter on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. I am writing to answer the question posed above about the father of Elizabeth’s baby.

Peter was the father, but Maude made it look as if her son fathered the child because, as she says at the very end, Petie was very near to becoming a boring man and needed a little salt. She knew that he and Sarah could handle it. She protected her husband and sacrificed not only her child, but his as well because it is fairly clear that Maude smothered that baby. What is surprising, though, is that Petie did not deny it and, therefore, both father and son bedded with crazy and dangerous Elizabeth at some point the previous winter when Elizabeth was holed up in Braebonnie with Petie - and then his father.

Things stick with you after twenty readings. And I have just started it again, in the middle of this pandemic summer, for it is comfort and joy. It is the only old friend I can touch and hold right now in this era of social distancing.