Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore - Available

The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove

by Susan Gregg Gilmore
ebook
Read a sample Read a sample
A privileged Southern girl must choose between her heart and her family’s expectations in this heartfelt novel from the author of The Funeral Dress.

“Simply a wonderful book . . . bold and tender and memorable.”—Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie
It’s hard to be your own person, especially if your name is Bezellia Grove.
Relationships are complicated in 1960s Nashville, where society is neatly ordered by class, status, and skin color. For the Groves, one of the city’s most prominent families, and particularly Bezellia, uniquely named for a fiery ancestor, it’s especially difficult. Bezellia is closer to the family’s black servants, her nanny, Maizelle, and the handyman, Nathaniel, than she is to her alcoholic mother and her distant, inaccessible father. When Bezellia has a clandestine affair with Nathaniel’s son Samuel, their romance is met with anger and fear from both families. In a time and place where rebelling against the rules carries a steep price, Bezellia Grove must decide which of her names will be the one that defines her.
Expand title description text
Publisher: Crown

Kindle Book

  • Release date: August 17, 2010

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780307592330
  • Release date: August 17, 2010

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780307592330
  • File size: 2384 KB
  • Release date: August 17, 2010
Loading
Loading

Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Fiction African American Fiction Literature Historical Fiction

Languages

English

A privileged Southern girl must choose between her heart and her family’s expectations in this heartfelt novel from the author of The Funeral Dress.

“Simply a wonderful book . . . bold and tender and memorable.”—Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie
It’s hard to be your own person, especially if your name is Bezellia Grove.
Relationships are complicated in 1960s Nashville, where society is neatly ordered by class, status, and skin color. For the Groves, one of the city’s most prominent families, and particularly Bezellia, uniquely named for a fiery ancestor, it’s especially difficult. Bezellia is closer to the family’s black servants, her nanny, Maizelle, and the handyman, Nathaniel, than she is to her alcoholic mother and her distant, inaccessible father. When Bezellia has a clandestine affair with Nathaniel’s son Samuel, their romance is met with anger and fear from both families. In a time and place where rebelling against the rules carries a steep price, Bezellia Grove must decide which of her names will be the one that defines her.
Expand title description text
Fiction African American Fiction Literature Historical Fiction