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Having spent a lifetime (from age one month) living in Africa, Asia, Europe, America and the Caribbean, I am fascinated by different cultures. The idea for Fireburn came whilst listening to dignitaries discussing the then upcoming centennial celebrations (2017) and it got me wondering about life on St Croix when it was known as the Danish West Indies.
Reviewed by Kathryn Bennett for Readers' Favorite
Fireburn by Apple Gidley takes the reader into the 1870s to the Danish owned island of Saint Croix. Anna Clausen is a young woman who is of Anglo-Danish heritage and she finds herself coming back to her childhood home after her mother passes away. Things are not bright and cheerful when she arrives; her father is ill and the long owned family plantation which she loves is falling apart. Anna sets out to put things to rights, no matter what stands in her way. Anna must overcome declining profits in sugar, field hands who do not trust her and so much more. Can she overcome it all in one of the worst periods of Caribbean history? Or will it all fall apart?
I love a good history book and this for me was a brand new topic. I went in knowing very little about the sugar industry of the 1870s and was excited to immerse myself in the story. I can tell you that author Apple Gidley did not disappoint at all. I fell into the reader's trap of saying "one more page and I will go to bed" while reading this one and completed it in one sitting. The cast of characters is one that I will recall for a long time indeed. Anna is a woman whom I would love to know personally. Not only does she have to shoulder the grief and so much hardship due to her gender, but she comes up against rebellion and bloodshed.
Women were not welcome at this time in history to own land, let alone run a business, but Anna is to be admired because she managed to shoulder all of it with the determination of a woman that simply will not be stopped. The formidable Emiline would be my second favorite character and she reminds me of a dearly loved character from Fried Green Tomatoes in her own way. Every moment and event in this book is written so well that it seems to leap off the page and put on a show right in front of you. If you have even a passing interest in history and enjoy wonderful writing, this book is for you and I highly recommend you set yourself to reading it. I look forward to reading more by this author.
