Name/Title
Cane RiverEntry/Object ID
2022.15.22Description
Cane River is a historical family saga chronicling four generations of African-American women from slavery to freedom in Louisiana, blending meticulous research with compelling storytelling.
Overview
Published in 2001, Cane River is Lalita Tademy’s debut novel and was selected for Oprah’s Book Club. The story begins with Tademy’s great-great-great-great-grandmother, Elisabeth, a slave on a Creole plantation in Louisiana, and follows four generations of women—Elisabeth, her daughter Suzette, granddaughter Philomene, and great-granddaughter Emily—as they navigate the challenges of slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the pre-Civil Rights South.
Themes and Historical Context
The novel explores resilience, family legacy, and the pursuit of economic independence. It also examines the complex racial and social hierarchies of Louisiana, including the blurred racial boundaries resulting from relationships between enslaved women and white French planters. Tademy highlights how legal and social restrictions prevented children of these unions from inheriting wealth, shaping the women’s strategies for survival and advancement.Collection
William "Billy" S. BatesAcquisition
Accession
2022.15Source or Donor
William Sims BatesAcquisition Method
DonationBook Details
Author
Lalita TademyEdition
FirstPlace Published
* Untyped Place Published
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020Date Published
Apr 2001ISBN
0-446-52732-7