Plantation

My first (and last) Frank book. Stereotypes & cliches. Immature & shallow.

I completely enjoyed this book! Dorothea Benton Frank can put words to life like no other. Plantation had my eyes popping, rolling and my mouth gasping! What a delightful read. ❤️

Another entertaining novel penned by Dorothea Benton Frank. The flavor of the Southern atmosphere is almost tangible......you can taste, smell, feel and see it all. The development of the characters is fast paced and memorable it is almost difficult to pick one personality over another with the exception of Miss Lavinia who is the most unforgetable, and spicy, character, to come along in quite some time. It was a book that I hated to put down and it most definitely was a book I hated to see end.

An EXCELLENT book. My first book by Dorothea Benton Frank, I was sad when this book came to an end....

Caroline Wimbley Levine was reared in southern tradition, on a plantation that her family has owned for generations. Her brother Trip has strayed a bit but is still part of the "good ole boy" generation that sips their bourbon freely, and never speaks of financial matters or politics when the ladies are present. Miss Lavinia is the Lady of the manor and is about to leave things in the questionably competent hands of her children. The author gives us characters that ooze with substance and strength. She is luminous in her presentation of family ties and the love between siblings that miles or years cannot erase. There are some amusing secrets to be uncovered as the author weaves a wonderful story of family loyalty and expectation.I was pleased to find yet another wonderful adventure from the Southern Low Country. After Thoroughly enjoying SULLIVAN'S ISLAND I couldn't wait to pick up another book written by this author. I was not disappointed. I have placed Dorothea Benton Frank on my favorite authors list and so should you. 12/27/01

Caroline Wimbley could list a million reasons for untying herself from her flamboyant mother Lavinia's apron strings and escaping to New York City to marry herself off to the first unsuitable man who looked her way. She's hasn't felt close to Lavinia in eons--ever since Daddy died and Lavinia simply quit being a mother.While the passing yawn of years has not played out as passionately as Caroline once hoped, she considers herself well married, happily self employed, and deliriously happy with her bright, but somewhat academically challenged young son. Going home to the Queen of Tall Pines Plantation where she and her brother Tripp were raised did not occupy a high spot on Caroline's list of priorities. Fate rears her fickle head, cackles noisily, and sets her sights firmly on Caroline's life.A rare phone call from her brother Tripp suggests the possibility that mother Lavinia has taken leave of her senses. Caroline rushes home "to see about mother." From the moment Caroline sets foot on the grounds of the plantation,little appears to have changed. Everything is just as beautiful as she remembers. But Caroline soon realizes that surface appearances mean little. Unflattering family secrets lurk in every branch of the Wimbley family, and promise to wreck havoc in everyone's lives.The only that the only thing that is for certain is that Lavinia, while as eccentric as ever, is perhaps the only member of the Wimbley crew who is in full control of her sanity.Plantation is both bust-a-gut funny and chock full of low country wisdom. Ms. Frank's ability to entice her characters to get up and dance off the page makes this endearing novel more than just a story. It is a tribute to the south I grew up with, where what is said, what is done and what is felt seldom means the same thing. This tale is rich with southern familiarity, and our infamous tawdry secrets. Frank's spellbinding ability to spin a yarn nudges the reader gently along as we each come remember the ties that bind us to family. Anyone who's ever both loved and hated a mother will leave this story yearning to feel safe in Momma's care just one more time.Bravo, Dorothea Benton Frank. You done good, you did.