Swan Place

By Augusta Trobaugh

Book Overview

Publishers Weeklyhailed Sophie and the Rising Sun, Augusta Trobaugh's previous novel, as "part Remains of the Day, part wartime drama." And Anne Rivers Siddons calls Trobaugh "a voice from and for the South, as complex and resonant as the region itself." Now this uniquely gifted storyteller gives us her most radiant and resilient character yet: fourteen-year-old Dove, born into a hardscrabble world of poverty and abandonment, forced to become wise beyond her years by life's tough breaks. A series of family tragedies leaves Dove, her younger sister, Molly, and their baby brother, Little Ellis, in the care of their stepmother, seventeen-year-old Crystal. Overwhelmed by raising three orphaned children on her own, Crystal turns to their Bible-thumping Aunt Bett, and Dove herself takes on much of the responsibility for looking after her siblings. But the fragile new household is disrupted when Molly's deadbeat blood father threatens to bring a custody suit. Determined to keep the family together, Crystal and Dove flee with the children to a secret refuge called Swan Place. It is here that the emerging woman Dove meets a group of devout Black women who transform her life-and the lives of her family-in unusual and profound ways. With insight and compassion, Trobaugh once again illuminates the battles-large and small-we wage daily in the face of adversity, the everyday miracles that help us survive, and the faith that carries us through.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525946888
• ISBN13: 9780525946885
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Lovely Southern Story

Swan Place is the fourth of Augusta Trobaugh's novels I have read, relishing every sentence. The author continues to give us lovely stories of Southern women and their courage. Dove, the protagonist of Swan Place, is a charming adolescent who has not yet come to realize her strength; she just does what has to be done as one challenge after another enters her young life. I would love to read of the grown up Dove to see what she becomes as an adult! Told with a strong sense of the importance of family support and love and sprinkled with southern idiomatic expressions, Troubaugh's novels show me glimpses of my own upbringing.

Excellent book

I loved this book. It was so refreshing to find another work of original southen fiction. This book was different from the Secret Life of Bees. Yes, there are a few similarities but it's a stretch to say they are alike in plot.

if you like southern fictiion - try this one!

Coming of age story. Dove loses her mother, (step)father and stepmother. Story has twists and turns with an overall good unity. Beautiful southern fiction at its best.

Swan Place

Swan Place is an amazing southern read, and a true comfort book.It is true that you will fall in love with the main character, 14-year old Dove, right from page 1. The story centers on Dove & her family as they try to rise above one unfortunate event after another and maintain survival.When Dove & her siblings become orphaned, their Aunt Bett steps in to help the children, even though as a widow, she has a home full of her own children to care for. Dove & the kids find themselves at Swan Place, where a strong, generous black woman named Buzzard steps in and brings a sense of comfort & stability to these children who are in a state of chaos. Swan Place is a story of the deep ties of family, the power of love, and the strength of women.

This book is a treasure

I picked up Swan Place without ever hearing of Augusta Trobough before and I have to tell you I fell in love with the writing stlyle and the main charactor Dove right from page one. Swan Place is the story of Dove, an almost 14 year old girl who has a tough road ahead of her. Doves loving Mamas death causes her to be the one left to take care of her two younger siblings, Molly and Little Ellis while her step-father is out working double shifts and clubbing at the local honky tonk. Dove was raised right by her mama and stands up to the challenges ahead of her including having a new step-mother who is only a few years older than Dove herself, children making fun of her at school for wearing second hand clothes, and a secret about her true parentage. Trombough has a wonderful flow to her writing that just draws you into this story and doesn't let go even once you are finished. This is a must read for all the southern fiction and coming of age readers out there.