Bright Leaf, North Carolina, 1946

Bright Leaf is known as the tobacco capital of the South. The town’s livelihood depends on tobacco, which sadly causes countless health problems for its inhabitants, such as failed pregnancies or asthma. Wealth inequality is one of the most striking features of the town, as well as the distinct social hierarchy of the tobacco wives.

Aunt Etta’s house

Maddie adores Aunt Etta’s house, where she spends all her summers. Maddie describes, “The sight of Aunt Etta’s little house, standing picture-perfect on her tree-lined street, usually brought a smile to my face” (22). Like Aunt Etta, the house looks “proud and happy” (22). Frances, Aunt Etta’s lover, is her neighbor.

The factory

Maddie is horrified by Bright Leaf’s tobacco factory: “I don’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this. Factory work’s hard, everybody knows that, but it...