The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau

 

Summary (from the publisher): Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1965, The Keepers of the House is Shirley Ann Grau’s masterwork, a many-layered indictment of racism and rage that is as terrifying as it is wise.

Entrenched on the same land since the early 1800s, the Howlands have, for seven generations, been pillars of their Southern community. Extraordinary family lore has been passed down to Abigail Howland, but not all of it. When shocking facts come to light about her late grandfather William’s relationship with Margaret Carmichael, a black housekeeper, the community is outraged, and quickly gathers to vent its fury on Abigail. Alone in the house the Howlands built, she is at once shaken by those who have betrayed her, and determined to punish the town that has persecuted her and her kin.

Morally intricate, graceful and suspenseful, The Keepers of the House has become a modern classic.

Review: "I am caught and tangled around by their doings. It is as if their lives left a weaving of invisible threads in the air of this house, of this town, of this county, and I stumbled and fell into them."

In this masterful, layered novel, Abigail Howland inherits the home and legacy that have been in the Howland family for seven generations, since the early 1800s. For generations, the Howlands have been pillars of their Southern community. Their wealth is substantial, and their estate and holdings are vast. But when Abigail inherits her grandfather's estate, she is unaware of the full extent of the legacy she is inheriting. Abigail and the community learn that her grandfather was married to Margaret Carmichael, his black housekeeper and mother of three of his children. The community outrage to this news is immense and is directed at Abigail as the last living Howland. In response to this attack, Abigail is determined to punish the town. 

Grau's writing is beautiful and mesmerizing. The history of the Howlands and their homes was very well done. I appreciated the sections that provided context and history before the novel shifts to Abigail's perspective in the final part of the novel. Abigail's love for her grandfather is apparent throughout. She is accepting of his relationship with Margaret and looks to Margaret as a mother figure. While it is her grandfather's secret marriage that exposes the family to the racially inspired outburst of hate, it is Abigail's choices that expose the family's secrets. Abigail marries an aspiring politician with an insatiable need for elected position. It is this marriage that draws scrutiny to the Howlands. Ironically, the wealthy, prominent family that was attractive to her husband may also prove his undoing. 

This novel has been described as "morally intricate" and I would agree with that description. In many ways Abigail and her grandfather are accepting and loving towards the blacks in their lives but in other ways the way they interact with them is deeply problematic. Margaret is a young, orphaned black teenager with no resources or where to turn when she meets William Howland, a widower several decades older than her. Did she really choose to be with him? Of course, the characters are restrained by the dictates of the world in which they live, which is the South before integration. Yes, her grandfather does the honorable thing in providing for Margaret and her children, but that wealth was made on the backs of blacks, and Margaret and her children are not welcomed at the Howland family home once William Howland dies. 

I do wish more agency, or at least more voice, had been given to Margaret. There is one section from her perspective, but really only provides into her bleak childhood. Margaret is courageous in her love for her children. She decides they are better off without her and ruthlessly casts them out of her life so that they may seek that future. Also, while I admired Abigail's courageous battle to pursue revenge in the final part of the book, it felt a bit hypocritical. She was very much a part of the culture and behaviors that also contributed to the racial fury she experienced. But I did admire her grit and resolve to burn it all rather than let them the townspeople continue to profit at her family's expense. 

A beautifully, crafted novel about the grand old south, with all its faults and troubles. I enjoyed the storied Howland family, with their attic filled with long forgotten silver and family secrets. 

Stars: 4