A Shackled Inheritance

Madeleine
McDonald
Genre: 
Historical

Upon the death of her father in Scotland, spinster Abigail Carrick discovers that she has another family in the West Indies, with two grown daughters of color – her sisters! Along with lawyer Euan Sinclair she embarks on a journey to meet her new family across the ocean. Abigail’s inheritance involves a slave plantation, and Euan is against slavery, which drives a wedge between them. Once they arrive on shore, however, they both begin to understand the true cruelty of slavery. As Abigail’s feelings for Euan grow, he’s attracted to her half-sister, who has a very different attitude toward slavery than Abigail does. 

The author did an excellent job researching the eras of slavery, the history of plantation houses, even the manner in which people spoke back then. The characters, in particular Euan and Abigail, are fleshed out and three dimensional, acting like real people would, and struggling with real issues. The injustice and cruelty of slavery, and the narrow-minded ways people tried to rationalize this, are the red threads throughout the book, and provide an interesting backdrop for the character’s relationships. 

"A Shackled Inheritance" is not only entertaining, but provides the reader with a lot of new information and research while keeping a fast pace without the dreaded "info dump". A heart-wrenching love story, Abigail and Euan's story is one for the ages! 

Majanka Verstraete