The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
Indigo is the most beautiful color I can think of. It is blue’s blue. I’m not sure many people
realize that in the early colonial days of our country we were a top producer
of some of the finest indigo dye in the world to date. That’s why I was excited to be given a chance
to read The Indigo Girl for NetGalley.
When Eliza Lucas was just sixteen years old her father left
her in charge of the family’s holdings, three South Carolina plantations, while
he travelled back to Antigua to manage his businesses there. Eliza was a bit of an amateur botanist and
she knew that to keep the economically troubled plantations afloat she had to
diversify, to find a crop that was not only needed, but valued in the
market. She remembered the indigo that
was produced in Antigua and she discovered a couple of her family’s slaves knew
a little of the production of the dye so she attempted to grow the crop.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, indigo is a fussy plant, the
timing of the harvest can be measured in minutes, and the transformation of
plant to dye is a painstakingly exact alchemical miracle.
Being a girl of sixteen and expecting respect was another
matter, but you didn’t fuss with Eliza. She
knew her head and with the help of family friends she managed to command the
respect she needed. All in the face of failing crops and slaves who refused to
share their knowledge, even sabotaging her attempts.
And, it turns out, Eliza Lucas is real. She was the real influence and initial
planter of indigo in this country, defying all odds and naysayers and the dye
came to be the top export of South Carolina,
and as production grew, providing immense wealth for the founding
families of the state.
The historical novel references Eliza’s letters and reestablishes her in the
annals of the history of our country.
This young girl became a founding “mother” and it was noted in the
author’s notes that upon her death, George Washington was one of her
pallbearers.
If the story itself was just a story it would have been good
enough but in the end, finding that Eliza was who she was makes it even more
important that we remember story.
