Sadie’s home, Chicago, IL, 1865

Sadie's Chicago home was built by her husband, Samuel, who died when his train derailed while it traveled to the city. Sadie lived there as head of the household with Richard, the coachman, Olga, the cook, and Madge, the housemaid, for company. She held private séances in the parlor, the room originally meant for Samuel's use and thus furnished with masculine items. Sadie finally claims the home to feel like her own and not her husband's by the end of the novel. The kitchen is where Madge kept her remedies and sold them to Sadie's customers. Many events in the novel take place at Sadie's home.

The sisters’ home, Tennessee, 1866

The sisters' home was given to their family by a grateful white man their female predecessors saved. When Madge arrived back there, she noticed that it was more bare than the last time...