2020 Feb Book Group

About the Author

Author Diane Cox McPhail is also an artist and a minister. A former Atlanta resident who was a gallery director and clinical art therapist, she has lived in Highlands, North Carolina for many years. Diane holds an M.F.A., an M.A., and D.Min.and has studied creative writing. At the Yale Writers’ Workshop, Diane found an agent and almost immediate publication for her debut novel, which was inspired by historical events involving her family. Trying to learn more about the mother she lost not long after birth, Diane looked at a family album with her uncle and learned that her great grandmother was at the center of a local event that had long haunted her imagination. Diane was directed in some of her twelve years of historical research by her teacher and mentor Jane Smiley, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Featured at the Mississippi Book Festival, Diane was also a headliner at the 2019 Bibliofeast, presented by the Charlotte Chapter of the Women's National Book Association. 

Read more at her website: https://www.dianemcphailauthor.com/

About the Book

The story begins in antebellum Mississippi with the family of a judge who believes in the education and manumission of slaves but is prevented from lawfully enacting his principles. The marriage of his daughter ultimately leads to a violent family clash over land and inheritance that is mirrored by the civil violence of war. "In the tradition of Cold Mountain, The Abolitionist’s Daughter eschews stereotypes of the Civil War South, instead weaving an intricate and unforgettable story of survival, loyalty, hope, and redemption." (From the publisher)

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jpcgLZfoKk

Historical Legends: oldgreensborolegends

Interviews:

- https://awriterofhistory.com/tag/the-abolitionists-daughter-by-diane-c-mcphail/

- https://southernlitreview.com/authors/allen-mendenhall-interviews-diane-c-mcphail-author-of-the-abolitionists-daughter.htm