Synopses & Reviews
From bestselling author Anne Rivers Siddons comes a bittersweet and finely wrought story of friendship, family, and Charleston society.At twelve, Emily Parmenter knows alone all too well. Left mostly to herself after her beautiful young mother disappeared and her beloved older brother died, Emily is keenly aware of yearning and loss. Rather than be consumed by sadness, she has built a life around the faded plantation where her remote father and hunting-obsessed brothers raise the legendary Lowcountry Boykin hunting spaniels. It is a meager, narrow, masculine world, but to Emily it has magic: the storied deep-sea dolphins who come regularly to play in Sweetwater Creek; her extraordinary bond with the beautiful dogs she trains; her almost mystic communion with her own spaniel, Elvis; the dreaming old Lowcountry itself. Emily hides from the dreaded world here. It is enough.
And then comes Lulu Foxworth, troubled daughter of a truly grand plantation, who has run away from her hectic Charleston debutante season to spend a healing summer with the quiet marshes and river, and the life-giving dogs. Where Emily's father sees their guest as an entrée to a society he thought forever out of reach, Emily is at once threatened and mystified. Lulu has a powerful enchantment of her own, and this, along with the dark, crippling secret she brings with her, will inevitably blow Emily's magical water world apart and let the real one in—but at a terrible price.
Poignant and emotionally compelling, Anne Rivers Siddons's Sweetwater Creek draws you into the luminous landscape of the Lowcountry. With characters that linger long after you've turned the last page, this engaging tale is destined to become an instant classic.
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“A fully alive world of many dimensions.” Tallahassee Democrat
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“Rises above…by the sheer beauty and power of its prose. A story that refuses to be put down.” Richmond Times-Dispatch
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“Themes of love and loss are intertwined throughout, as the reader rides on a tide of Siddons lush, lyrical prose.” Charlotte News & Observer
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“This is Siddons best work.” Chicago Tribune
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“Richly atmospheric…touching, dramatic… one of Siddons most impressive novels.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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“This story, with its haunting, lyrical prose and complex characters...will captivate any reader.” Booklist
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“Fans of Southern novels in the vein of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES will relish this ones rich atmosphere.” Washington Post
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“Few writers are better than Siddons at evoking the sweet gentility of Southern climes.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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“A powerful narrative that should satiate Siddons many fans and captivate new ones.” St. Petersburg Times
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“Lush, lyrical prose and loving detail.” Bangor Daily News
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“A page-turner. The setting and the isolated life will remind readers of Sue Monk Kidds THE MERMAID CHAIR.” USA Today
Synopsis
Rebuilding her life on a plantation after the disappearance of her mother and the death of a sibling, Lilly Parmenter forges a near-mystical relationship with her beloved spaniel and finds her world changing after the arrival of a rebellious debutante, who harbors a dark secret. By the author of Up Island. Reprint.
Synopsis
Twelve-year-old Emily Parmenter survived her mother's abandonment and her beloved older brother's death -- and now finds purpose in training her father's magnificent spaniels . . . and refuge in the magic of Sweetwater Creek.
But a new friend has entered Emily's life -- a troubled daughter of privilege whose secrets threaten to blow a hole in Emily's beautiful world and let the real one in . . .
Synopsis
Lilly Parmenter lives with her father and two brothers on their faded plantation in the South Carolina low country where they breed the famed Boykin hunting dogs for Charleston's elite class. Lilly's mother deserted the family when Lilly was a child; the only family member she feels close to is her older brother Buddy. When he tragically dies, she feels adrift within her own family and the only thing she really cares about are the dogs. Into Lilly's overwhelmingly masculine universe arrives Lulu Wentworth, the privileged daughter of one of Charleston's ruling class. When Lulu's father comes down to the Parmenter estate to look at the Boykins he's heard so much about, Lulu comes with him. For Lulu, it's love at first sight: the land, the marshes, the smell of salt water on the air, and above all, the dogs. Lulu is recovering from an experience she won't talk about and the Wentworths have tried everything to make her well. But the only thing she now wants is to live on the dog farm and help in the kennels. Much to Lilly's displeasure, Walter Permenter jumps at the chance to have a real child of "society" enter his very own family. Lilly doesn't need another female around, and she certainly doesn't want one around who loves the dogs as much as she does. The two reach an uneasy truce that soon turns to true friendship as they learn each others secrets and share the secrets of the low country.
About the Author
Anne Rivers Siddons bestselling novels include Sweetwater Creek, Nora, Nora, Low Country, Up Island, Fault Lines, Downtown, Hill Towns, Colony, Outer Banks, King's Oak, Peachtree Road, Homeplace, Fox's Earth, The House Next Door, and Heartbreak Hotel. She is also the author of a work of nonfiction, John Chancellor Makes Me Cry. She and her husband Heyward split their time between their home in Charleston, SC and Brooklin, ME.