This is the second book about a slave family that I've recently read. The first was Breena Clarke's fine novel, What in the world could a Canadian white author know about pre-Civil War plantation life? Quite a lot, actually, as Kathleen Grissom makes clear in her excellent, gripping novel, “The Kitchen House “. Set in Virginia between the years of 1791 and 1810, the story centers on Lavinia, an orphaned Irish servant, and Belle, the mixed-race slave who takes young Lavinia under her wing in the kitchen house. There, amidst a rich cast of characters, the Irish girl makes her home and finds a new family in the slaves who love her.As a white servant, Lavinia is treated differently from the others by the plantation owners up at the Big House. She is allowed to be tutored alongside the master’s children, and when she comes of age she is sent to Philadelphia to live with the family ofher mistress’s sister. There, she learns the graceful art of becoming a lady. However, she remains homesick for the people she calls family, the slaves of the Tall Oaks plantation.After the plantation owner dies, his son Marshall takes over. By this time Lavinia has returned to Tall Oaks as Marshall’s new wife. She watches with horror as her cruel, alcoholic husband threatens to destroy the lives of those she loves, including her beloved Belle as well as Mama Mae, the woman Lavinia calls “Mama”.As a reader, I knew that I was in the hands of a deft storyteller by the seamless way the author wove in the details of early nineteenth century plantation life without interfering with the true story, that of Lavinia and her slave family.I found myself caring for almost all of the characters, even feeling sorry at times for hardened, drunken Marshall. Each time I picked up the book, I became absorbed to the point where I had difficulty setting it down to do other things. The author excels in character, plot, and pacing. Her writing style is clear and heartfelt, and it is obvious to me that she has done a great deal of research into the time period and the realities of slave living. As I mentioned before, the author Kathleen Grissom is a white Canadian, which makes her achievement all the more remarkable. However, if you believe as I do, that the task of caring writersis to bridge the great divide between those who differ from one another, then Kathleen Grissom has done her job.