Night Come Swiftly Author:P. B. Wilson In 1851, two baby daughters are born on the Douglas plantation. Meredith Douglas is the privileged white child, raised by her doting father. Tilly Douglas is the child of slaves who, due to Meredith's friendship, gets a good education. However, it is only after Tilly runs away from the plantation and travels north that she can put her knowledge ... more »to any purpose by becoming a nurse. Meredith, meanwhile, enjoys a carefree life until coincidence and tragedy lead her into a loveless marriage.
This fairly short book spans the entire lives of the women, from 1851 to 1921, and includes a multitude of births, deaths, and family upsets, so many, in fact, that they book might have worked better as two volumes. Still, this is an exceptionally well-written novel of the lives of women from Wilson (The Master's Degree, Harvest House, 1996). Especially noteworthy is the inclusion of plantation life from the point of view of a slave.« less