Elderberrywine (Dec 26, 2015 - 5 of 5 Stars) it was amazing. Well now. This was certainly a barn-burner. It starts off as your typical antebellum Southern romance, but quickly veers off onto all sorts of unlikely tangents. Years in Africa dealing in the slavery trade (not to mention an absolutely harrowing account of the effects of smallpox on an over-loaded trading vessel)? Check. Traipsing about Europe enthralled by a lover who also happens to be a superbly gifted coloratura? Also check. And then back again to the now post-bellum Tara look-alike Fairoaks? But of course.

It must not be overlooked that the author was African-American, which gives a good deal of the plot an unusual perspective. And how did this movie not manage to get made in the '50s, starring Clark Gable, or at the very least, Howard Keel? C'mon, now, give a girl what she wants.

Judy (May 06, 2009 - 5 of 5 Stars) really liked it: So sad that Yerby is now out of print, he is a fine storyteller. In this novel of the Old South he creates some unforgettable characters, especially Guy Falks, the man all men want to be like, and all women want to love. Most interesting is Yerby's blunt exploration of race relations in very politically incorrect terms, and, in this book, a large section on the African slave trade. This is not just another antebellum pot boiler!

John (Dec 29, 2012 - 5 of 5 Stars) it was amazing: perhaps THE BEST YERBY BOOK YET. GREAT CHARACTERS, NOT A WASITED WORD IN ENTIRE BOOK. I HAVE TO PACE MYSELF OR I WOULD READ ALLL OF HIS BOOKS ONE AFTER THE OTHER. THAY ARE SO GOOD TO READ BETWEEN READING SO MANY OTHER BORING WORKS.