Indigo Girl

Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd                 Audio Book: 10 hours, 32 minutes     Hardback Book:  352 pages                 

Really good book.   You will want to keep going till you finish this one, such a good story.    Indigo Girl is based on a real person, Eliza Lucas who lived on one of her father’s plantations in South Carolina in the 1700s.   The book is based on historical fact with a few fictional embellishments added.    For the most part the historical part is totally accurate and well researched.   Eliza Lucas though only 16 in 1739 was left to run the plantaion and oversee her father’s 2 other properties while he was away on business in their former home of Antigua.    Her 2 brothers were away from home and unable to take on the challenge one brother in the military and one a way at school.    Eliza’s mother was not business-minded and Eliza had always taken an interest in her father’s affairs, helping him with the books, and riding alongside him learning how he ran the businesses of the plantations (growing rice. Etc.)   and meeting the people he had to assist him (overseers, lawyers, suppliers, etc.0    This was quite a task for a woman back in those days as women were considered to be homebodies and too genteel to understand the aspects of any type of business, politics, etc.   For Eliza to be entrusted with this challenge was quite an accomplishment.   Her father apologized but told her with her brothers away he had to depend on her until her brother returned from his military duty.    Her father was gone to Antigua for a few years and Eliza proved to be totally capable of the responsibility.    The plantations were mortgaged to the hilt and worry was they would have to be sold to repay their debts unless they could somehow produce enough crops to make a profit.    Eliza learned about the value of indigo and how much money could be made from the sale of it.    The French had cornered the market on indigo production but with the English and French going to war and the threat of the Spanish declaring war as well, indigo prices were rising.    Now being young and idealistic, Eliza didn’t let a little thing like the soil not being right to grow the plant that indigo dye is made from.   Nor did she consider the fact that there was a long involved process not just in working the soil so that the plants would thrive but also the long involved process of fermenting and “brewing” the plant to get just the right tecture and color of indigo.    The girl goes through hell.   Lots involved in the story and it is a captivating one.   The reader will be so caught up in it –a true pageturner here.    And a fascinating study in history to boot.  Well done.