The Plantation Series by Gretchen Craig

Since they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak. They never dream they could also share an intense passion for the same man, the elegant, charming, and irresistibly seductive Bertrand Chamard... moreSince they were children running barefoot about Toulouse Plantation, Josie and Cleo have been as close as sisters, forging an unbreakable bond that defies their roles as mistress and slave. Together, the two have shared secrets and protected each other through happiness and heartbreak. They never dream they could also share an intense passion for the same man, the elegant, charming, and irresistibly seductive Bertrand Chamard. His love will change their friendship forever and set in motion a series of events from which there can be no turning back. Set among the bayous of Old Louisiana and the grand avenues of New Orleans, ALWAYS & FOREVER is the stirring saga of a Creole family and of two women, bound by blood and friendship, who are tested by prejudice, betrayal, and the tragedies of slavery. Book I of THE PLANTATION SERIES. less

The story continues as on the eve of the Civil War, the daughter of Southern planters finds her loyalties tested in a magnificent saga of family pride and forbidden love. Marianne has been exposed to abolitionist rhetoric. How does she remain loyal to her family and her culture when she now understands just how evil slavery is. Pearl, a slave on Marianne’s plantation, loves a man who cannot, and will not, accept enslavement. She fears he will leave her when he runs... moreThe story continues as on the eve of the Civil War, the daughter of Southern planters finds her loyalties tested in a magnificent saga of family pride and forbidden love. Marianne has been exposed to abolitionist rhetoric. How does she remain loyal to her family and her culture when she now understands just how evil slavery is. Pearl, a slave on Marianne’s plantation, loves a man who cannot, and will not, accept enslavement. She fears he will leave her when he runs. And Yves, another child of a rich planter, chooses principle over loyalty as he secretly shepherds escaped slaves on their way north. Book II of The Plantation Series. less

Nicolette Chamard, a woman of color in the most color-conscious city in the world, rejoices when the Union Army marches into New Orleans. At last her people will be free, and even knowing her collaboration with the Union will put her in danger, she means to help make it happen. Marcel Chamard, Nicolette’s privileged white half-brother, surveys the same parade and sees conquerors, not liberators... moreNicolette Chamard, a woman of color in the most color-conscious city in the world, rejoices when the Union Army marches into New Orleans. At last her people will be free, and even knowing her collaboration with the Union will put her in danger, she means to help make it happen. Marcel Chamard, Nicolette’s privileged white half-brother, surveys the same parade and sees conquerors, not liberators. If the Union wins the war, it will mean the end of the slave-holding culture, the end of wealth and ease. Marcel wants nothing to change, not the family’s rich cane plantation, not the life he plans with his lovely white bride, and not the life he lives with his beloved colored mistress and their two sons. Finnian McKee, a Union Army officer, comes from a family of abolitionists. He is determined to do his small part to make the ideal of freedom a reality for all. When he meets the fascinating Nicolette Chamard, he is too new to New Orleans to recognize that though she is light-skinned, she is by Louisiana standards a Negress. Torn apart by the war and by a culture that forbids their union, his heart’s desire is to find love with this woman that will transcend the bonds of race. Evermore, book three in the acclaimed Plantation Series, is the final story in this grand saga of slaves and Creoles whose lives intertwine in the complicated culture of Old Louisiana. The bonds between the races, both the loving and the despised, are about to be torn apart as the Civil War rages into New Orleans. Includes Book Group discussion questions. less