Anna: Letters of a St Simons Island Plantation Mistress, 1817-1859

Anna Matilda Page King (1798-1859) was, in practice, the head of her family's plantation on St Simons Island, because her husband was often away as a slaveholder and public figure. Her letters, many of them written to him, show how she carried that responsibility day to day.

The book gathers more than 150 letters that Anna sent to her husband, her children, her parents and others. Read together, they describe ordinary household concerns: keeping food on the table, caring for her family 'black and white', and trying to stay loyal to a husband who often disappointed her.

Readers interested in plantation life, women's lives in the American South in the years 1817 to 1859, or the personal side of Southern history will find these letters a close and direct record.

Edition note: published by University of Georgia Press. ISBN-13: 9780820323329.