Now available on Amazon!
Today is release day for Heather Miller's "'Tho I Be Mute"
For fans of Frazier's "Cold Mountain", the mountain woman character who nurses Inman back to health is the inspiration for Miller's book; this one will capture your heart, as well!
Home. Heritage. Legacy. Legend.
'Tho I Be Mute is the captivating true love story of John and Sarah Ridge unfolding through the eyes of their adult daughter, Clarinda. As an interracial couple in early 19th century America, a time of deep prejudice, their journey is one of resilience and determination.
Daughter to the Foreign Mission School Steward, Sarah Bird Northrup lives a simple life in Cornwall, Connecticut, but finds her quiet world shaken when an ill Cherokee student is brought to her home. Despite the disapproval of her parents, Sarah and the young Cherokee fall deeply in love. However, their bond is tested when Sarah's parents force two years of separation. Love conquers all, and they eventually marry and settle at John's family home in Cherokee country.
Once an outsider himself, John watches as Sarah struggles to adapt to a foreign culture and language. With the help of Honey, a girl half Cherokee and half African, Sarah finds the strength to overcome the unfamiliarity surrounding her. After the birth of their unique daughter, Clarinda, Sarah discovers her own voice and embraces the power of her husband's culture and heritage.
John, now an attorney for the Cherokee Nation, fights tirelessly against to force the American government to recognize Cherokee sovereignty and that of his people's Creek neighbors. Alongside his friend David Vann and cousin Elias Boudinot, editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, John confronts his own privilege and haughtiness, standing up for his Cherokee family, their home, and their rich land. But, the path to justice is uncertain.
'Tho I Be Mute is a poignant and inspiring tale that reminds us of the strength of love, the power of home, and the courage it takes to fight for what is right. Through daughter Clarinda's journal, we are transported back to a time of struggle and temporary triumph, where the bonds of family and the pursuit of justice shape a legacy.
The strength to fly comes from courage alone.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/gAjq8N
Author Bio:
A veteran English teacher and college professor, Heather has spent thirty years teaching her students the author’s craft. Now, with an empty nest and time on her hands, she’s writing herself, transcribing voices lost to American history.
Learn more at www.heathermillerauthor.com or www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/hp-authors/heather-miller
Editorial Review:
Editorial Review: “Tho I Be Mute” (A Prequel Novel)
Author: Heather Miller
“Doe deer leapt over the running waters ahead. Rabbits skittered, burrowing for cover. Birds hid their heads under their wings in quiet preparation. Nature stilled, barricading itself against the coming shift. Tonight’s October winds assured that the Summer Sun continued her quarrel, fighting skirmishes of warmth against cold winds and falling rain. But this dusk, the Sun threw her hands to the sky and retreated sullenly to the dark, knowing, all the while, she could not stay. She returned to her home in the sky, like a familiar stranger, and would remain distant the entire fall and winter through.”
“Tho I Be Mute” by Heather Miller is a beautifully written novel, set in Georgia, USA in the early to mid 1800s. The story is based around real-life historical figures John Ridge and Sarah Northrup/Ridge. There is a strong focus on nature and references to the landscape. The narrative is written in the first-person, but from the points of view of different historical figures and characters. The book starts with Clarinda in 1856, reminiscing about her parents. The imagery evoked is one of nostalgia and longing, as Clarinda sews with her dog Digaleni at her feet. Right from the start the author references Cherokee life and Clarinda’s place within it through her name for her pet (Digaleni is Cherokee for “ears”); her garb and her keen focus on nature, both plants and birds.
The narrative then moves to John Ridge, who is travelling to study, and is living between the Cherokee and settler worlds. Again the author succeeds in showing John’s personality and motivations in short order, from his references to his father, his interactions with fellow students, and his reaction to what the modern reader may see as so-called “casual” racism.
The chapters from John’s point of view are direct and factual. He recounts what he sees, both with clarity and emotion. When his teachers identify him as one of the most able students at the school, the reader is unsurprised. When John becomes seriously ill, the reader (and John!) is introduced to Sarah, who cares for him during his sickness, after which their relationship is sparked. The scenes between John and Sarah’s mother when he shows her the letters he has written to his own mother are unbearably poignant.
The chapters from Sarah’s point of view are more dutiful as she recounts her life with her family, and her concern about John. Sarah is also keenly perceptive and has already recognised the social inequalities around her. The visit of John’s father to Sarah’s family home also demonstrates the subtle and unsubtle social gulfs of the time.
“Mother was a Christian woman to those whose likenesses mimicked her own. She worried far too much about how others viewed her. So, she did her Christian duty to the students at the school and considered her efforts saintly. I’m naïve, only fifteen, but I believed God made us all, some in shades of dusk and some in shades of dawn. God saw fit to place us in the path of those He intended us to meet and those He meant for us to serve. John’s friendship taught me how the gift was returned.”
The story is primarily set around John and Sarah’s story, both personal and political. Clarinda’s scenes (set in later decades) are also woven through the narrative, and it is apparent she is John and Sarah’s daughter.
The character arcs of both John and Sarah and other historical figures brought to life within “Tho I Be Mute” are detailed and authentic. Miller does much more than merely recount known historical facts; she has given each character an independent voice and a level of personal agency that rings true for the times in which the novel is set. Even those readers who are familiar with this era will find themselves transported into a tale that is anything but predictable. The story is packed with emotion, but also with adventure as John and Sarah strike out on their own, away from their families. The path to true love definitely does not run smooth! But John and Sarah’s love for each other is intense, and the emotional intimacy between them is made clear by the author, regardless of the pressure or threat they are facing.
“The longer we spent together on this never-ending journey, the more I discerned Sarah’s rainbow of expressions. Focusing on the quiet crux between her eyes, I watched her study the passing still-life paintings of barren fields with bristly brown stalks standing in a bed of red-clay mud. Roof-high firewood stacks leaned against ramshackle log cabins with ill-mudded seams barely able to block the night wind’s intrusion.”
There is much tragedy in this novel – and in the history it relates – that this review could never attempt to describe. But despite the heartbreak through the narrative, the ending of “Tho I Be Mute” brings the story a full circle and is a fitting and highly emotional conclusion to an enthralling tale.
“Tho I Be Mute” is a book that totally immerses the reader in the America of its times. The author has expertly woven together the personal, social, religious and cultural concerns of the era to create a compelling storyline based around real-life historical figures. Miller’s depiction of the political and social upheaval is clearly well-researched, but added to that the narrative contains an additional, almost mythical element where nature provides a spiritual meaning and sustenance. The combination of harsh reality, human emotion, and the mythical realm is superbly entwined in “Tho I Be Mute”. There will be a sequel to this story, one that is keenly awaited by this reviewer.
*****
"Tho I Be Mute” by Heather Miller receives 5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company (Reviewed 27 August 2024)
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