Summary

As the novel opens, Eliza Boylston describes her earliest memories at the family's home on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, including the slaves. Eliza lives an entitled life and adheres to her mother's teachings that she should not do anything for herself. She drops her clothes where she stands, knowing a maid will pick them up. Eliza and her brother Jeb run happily through the house and the extensive estate grounds as children. When Eliza is four, her sister Maria is born, and she considers Maria and Jeb her closest friends. Eliza has one young female friend, Louisa Ruggles, who has a crush on Jeb and lives an equally privileged life. Eliza spends a lot of time with the family cook, Cassie, who has a son when Eliza is 12. Eliza adores him and begins to teach him to read. Her mother allows the...