Olivia Aberdeen is now a widow and is not well liked, nor
accepted by many, for her husband Charles Winthrop Aberdeen
was a carpetbagger who swindled and stole from the people
and many hated him, for they had been through the horrors
of war and then cheated by him. When he died, Olivia became
their target of hatred.
Olivia finds an escape route to the home of her mother's
best friend and her husband. Elizabeth and General William
Giles Harding have a thoroughbred stud farm close to
Nashville, Tennessee. The name of the farm is Belle Meade
and Olivia has been promised a job to be head
housekeeper. When she arrives at Belle Meade she is told
differently. She is accepted by Elizabeth, but Olivia finds
the rest of the family is very
cold to her.
On the day of Olivia's arrival she meets Ridley Adam
Cooper. He is a man intent to learn all there is to know
about horses. Mr. Cooper through uncomfortable
circumstances has already met a Mr. Bob Greene who is a
trainer for these magnificent horses. Mr. Cooper knows Mr.
Greene is the man that can teach him. When Olivia meets Mr.
Cooper, she pretends to be aloof, yet both of them feel
that something is there between them. Both of them have
pasts they wish to keep quiet about, but both of them must
learn not to condemn, nor judge, so that they will not be
judged. What you do to others, comes right back to you.
Olivia and Mr. Cooper find the time to heal their old
wounds and as they do, a slow and steady romance begins.
Even though Olivia is dependent on General Harding and his
wife Elizabeth, she is willing and eager to work. I admire
Olivia for this character trait. Through other hardened
circumstances she gains-- the respect of others who at first
pre-judged her. She is an admirable character who is easy
to like and cheer for.
I loved TO WHISPER HER NAME and Tamara Alexander adds good
wit and charm
and a long lasting love. This story gave me an insight as
to what it was like after the Civil War. Slaves that were
given their freedom stayed on at Belle Meade for the
plantation had done so well financially that it could keep
it's servants. Many in the south could not see that the
slaves were a free people now. Some wanted to continue to
keep them as slaves, so one way of doing so, was to keep
them with no education. TO WHISPER HER NAME was an adventure
in learning for me.
Olivia Aberdeen, destitute widow of a murdered
carpetbagger,
gratefully accepts an invitation from 'Aunt' Elizabeth
Harding, mistress of Belle Meade Plantation and the
dearest
friend of Olivia's late mother. Expecting to be the
Harding's housekeeper, Olivia is disillusioned once again
when she learns the real reason why Elizabeth's husband,
Confederate General William Giles Harding, agreed to her
coming. Caring for an ill Aunt Elizabeth, Olivia is
caught
off guard by her feelings for Ridley Adam Cooper, a
southern-born son who---unbeknownst to her and everyone
else---fought for the Union. Determined to learn 'the
gift'
that Belle Meade's head horse trainer, Bob Green,
possesses,
Ridley is a man desperate to end the war still raging
inside
him while harboring secrets that threaten his life. As
Ridley seeks to make peace within himself for 'betraying'
the South he loved, Olivia is determined to never be
betrayed again... Set within the remarkable history of
Nashville's historic Belle Meade Plantation, comes a
story
about enslavement and freedom, arrogance and humility,
and
the power of love to heal even the deepest of wounds.
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