This book is based on the true story of Eliza Lucas. The author was inspired to create this novel when she learned about Eliza after overhearing one of her descendants talk about her. Eliza lived in South Carolina in the early 1700’s, and was instrumental in starting the indigo trade there. At the time, much of the indigo sold to France and Britain was grown in the Caribbean islands, and the method of processing the leaves of the plant to produce the dye was a closely held secret, and even if you knew the basics, it was challenging to get it just right. But if someone could get it just right, there was a lot of money to be made.
In 1739, Eliza, her parents, and younger sister are living in South Carolina. Although her father owns several plantations, he would rather have a commission in His Majesty’s army, in Antigua, where the family lived previously. Due to her mother’s poor health, Eliza has already taken on many of the duties of running a household, but when her father returns alone to Antigua, she is given the task of running everything. Apparently, her father had to pay for the privilege of having a commission in the army, and Eliza must try to make the plantations profitable. She apparently had the intelligence required for the task, but many people would not give her credit for that, because of her gender.
Eliza decides that, although it seems almost impossible, she will grow indigo, figure out how to make dye cakes to sell abroad, and thereby save the plantations and her family’s fortunes. That much of the story is accurate. A number of the other individuals in the story are also real people, while some are completely from the mind of the author. Boyd skillfully interweaves them, but thoughtfully tells you at the end which was which. She describes both what life would have been like on a plantation, as well as in the town of Charles Town, including attendance at a ball. However, the story is told through the eyes of Eliza, so the feelings and motivations of all of the other characters are only guessed at.
If this was your family, how would you research them? The author of this book was fortunate in that many of Eliza’s letters have been preserved. If your ancestor was part of the wealthier classes, you should check historical societies near where they lived. Records from plantations, or at least various land-related transactions should also be available. There are also still some records regarding the slaves who labored on the plantations. Any large town or city near where your ancestor lived might have had a newspaper, but the letters and diaries of others who lived in the area, which might be found at the afore mentioned historical societies, would give you an idea of what your ancestors life would have been like.