Where the Rivers Merge - Large Print by Mary Alice Monroe (Paperback)

About the Book

"1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. A free spirit, she refuses to be confined by societal norms and spends her days exploring the vast property, observing wildlife, and riding horses. But the Great War, coastal storms, and family turmoil bring unexpected challenges to Eliza, putting her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era. 1988: At 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She's fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family--or watch them both be split apart"--

Book Synopsis

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

"Wade into the Lowcountry of South Carolina with Mary Alice Monroe's sweeping Southern epic."--People

"This is book club fiction at its finest!" --Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From the New York Times bestselling author, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.

1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. A free spirit, she refuses to be confined by societal norms and spends her days exploring the vast property, observing wildlife, and riding horses. But the Great War, coastal storms, and family turmoil bring unexpected challenges to Eliza, putting her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.

1988: At 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She's fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family--or watch them both be split apart.

Set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century Lowcountry, Where the Rivers Merge is a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.

Review Quotes

"Like so many of you, I start my summer season with the enchanting novels of Mary Alice Monroe. I'm a devoted fan of her magical depictions of the lowcountry and the charms of her characters." - Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Lowcountry roots run deep in Mary Alice Monroe's latest environmental masterpiece...a wonderful new family saga. Where the Rivers Merge is the first of a two-part series that is sure to become a classic.... This is a sweeping story of one precocious woman's fight to keep the land and her home safe from development at all costs.... Monroe makes everything come alive with her prose." - Florida Weekly
"Wade into the Lowcountry of South Carolina with Mary Alice Monroe's sweeping Southern epic.... You can almost feel the grasses tickling your calves from the very first page of Monroe's long-anticipated Where the Rivers Merge." - People
"Bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe is known for her lush novels that explore themes of family, love and nature--and her latest follows suit!" - Woman's World
"A lush and shimmering book about memory, family, the power of stories, and the ties that bind us to landscape. This book sings with significance. Mary Alice Monroe has penned a beautiful and lasting love letter to the south." - Signe Pike, author of The Lost Queen series
"Where The Rivers Merge is simply captivating. Monroe is a master storyteller and her lyrical depictions of the Lowcountry and the natural world awakened all of my senses and left me breathless at every chapter's end. The characters leapt off the page and stayed with me long after the book was finished. Stunning in every way, a must-read." - Sadeqa Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve
"Where the Rivers Merge is an entrancing, multigenerational tale brimming with characters so vivid and endearing that, to the reader, they quickly feel like longtime friends. With each gripping reveal of Mayfield's past, Monroe drew me deeper on a journey, at turns both heartwarming and heartbreaking, while building to its elegant conclusion. A touching, memorable read." - Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Girls of Good Fortune
"Sweeping and sensuous, Where the Rivers Merge is a layered family saga and an insightful exploration of one woman's efforts to honor the past while remaining open to change. Mary Alice Monroe's immersive dual-timeline novel charts a family's complicated history in the Lowcountry outside Charleston, S.C." - Shelf Awareness
"A thoughtful work that her fans and those who prize stories about preserving nature and heritage will enjoy." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Bestselling Monroe's enthralling family saga follows dual timelines as Eliza, CEO of a successful family-owned company, tells her life story. Historical details, customs of the times, love, loss, economics, and passionate love for the land are all deftly interwoven.... Monroe's novel has echoes of such classics as A Woman of Substance (1979) by Barbara Taylor Bradford, The Shell Seekers (1987) by Rosamunde Pilcher, and The Thorn Birds (1977) by Colleen McCullough." - Booklist (starred review)
"Mary Alice Monroe is helping to redefine the beauty and magic of the Carolina Lowcountry. Every book she has written has felt like a homecoming to me." - New York Times bestselling author Pat Conroy
"Monroe serves up a pleasing paean to rural life in South Carolina.... The author's fans will find much to admire." - Publishers Weekly