The Sugar Planter's Daughter

The Sugar Planter's Daughter is the second book in the Quint Family trilogy by Guyanese-born author, Sharon Maas. Set some two years after The Secret Life of Winnie Cox, this book picks up from where that one left off. Archie Cox languishes in a British jail while his youngest daughter, Yoyo runs Plantation Promised Land from behind her husband-of -convenience, Clarence Smedley.

Winnie is disappointed that the humanitarian changes she and Yoyo had planned for Plantation Promised Land are abandoned when Yoyo takes over: Yoyo has discovered that profit and kindness do not easily mix .As their Mama, Ruth Cox returns to British Guiana from Europe, Winnie is about to marry her darkie lover, George Quint.

Despite her strong disapproval of her sister's marriage, Yoyo finds herself jealous of Winnie's obvious happiness with George, a man whose love for Winnie is apparent to all who meet them. When Winnie gives birth to a son, Yoyo's jealousy escalates: the one thing Clarence has not managed to do is give her an heir for the Plantation. Winnie's charitable opinion of her sister is to be sorely tested when she ignores warnings from several quarters.

Maas gives the reader an interesting and original plot in which certain characters begin to show their true colours. There's plenty of happiness, but also a good deal of heartache in this instalment. Maas renders early twentieth century British Guiana with consummate ease: her first-hand experience with the country is apparent in the lush descriptive passages.

While this book can be read as a stand-alone, reading the books of the series in the order they are published gives the reader a much richer reading experience as they will be familiar with the main characters, people they have come to know and love.

This is another brilliant read from the author of Of Marriageable Age, and readers will be pleased to know that there is a wonderful book that features Winnie Cox in her later years as a support character: The Small Fortune of Dorothea Q. Fans will not be disappointed with this second book of the trilogy, and readers new to this author are bound to seek out more of her work. Another marvellous read.