When Caroline Wimbley Levine learns that her mother, Miss Lavinia, has supposedly gone mad, she leaves the big city bustle of Manhattan and returns to Tall Pines Plantation. Caroline originally left Tall Pines to escape her feisty, eccentric mother and her drunken brother, Trip, but when Miss Lavinia dies, Caroline is forced to come to terms with her family's troubled history as well as her failing relationship with her husband. As Caroline reminisces about her past rebelliousness and her childhood, she realizes that her father's sudden and tragic death many years before served as a catalyst for the family's disintegration. Caroline and Trip also learn that their seemingly selfish and self-assured mother was not so uncaring after all.
Download and start listening now!
"The book did not let me down. It took a litle bit for me to be drawn into the book but once Miss L hooked me in I did not want to put the book down. THe book is rich with true southern charm. I love the rich characters and Miss L Queen of Tall Pines was wonderful.....We should all have a Miss Lavinia in our lives." — Tammy (4 out of 5 stars)
"The book did not let me down. It took a litle bit for me to be drawn into the book but once Miss L hooked me in I did not want to put the book down. THe book is rich with true southern charm. I love the rich characters and Miss L Queen of Tall Pines was wonderful.....We should all have a Miss Lavinia in our lives."
" Good summer reading....if southern plantation living interests you the writer did a good job. I laughed right out loud over some of the sayings in the book...pretty entertaining.Almost wanted to highlight them to use myself! Also good story line over mother-daughter relationships. "
" I enjoyed this quirky family, but thought some things were dragged on too long. "
" My favorite DBF book. I laughed, I cried, and I would read it again and again. I think I am secretly a Geechy girl "
" Great family story. Caroline returns to her home after her marriage ends. "
" One of my fav authors. She is wonderful and her books read like butter!!! All of them. "
" I enjoyed this story of a Southern family who are drawn home as their lives become complicated and who are surprised by their own sense of home and family after years of denying that those pulls existed. The book is full of colorful characters trying to make their way through the minefields of mother-daughter struggles, marriage nightmares, age, small-town vs city sensibilities, age, illness and more... Feisty and funny and very touching at times. "
" This one started slow for me but I finished in tears. Wonderful story about family relationships, the power of friendships, mistakes we all make or will make in our lives and, of course, life in the South. "
" Ireally like this one so far. "
" First book that ever made me cry, but I laughed too. "
" Great story about the bond between a mother and daughter, no matter what the circumstances. "
" Love this SC Low-country tale! "
" I've read all of Dorthea Benton Frank's books. Easy, entertaining reading....not much depth, but a nice story. Most of her books are based in South Carolina low country, and sometimes the characters in one book are mentioned (but not paraded around) in her other books. "
" Great beach read in a southern low country setting. "
" Love her writing style. Provides a lot of detail that gives the reader a great setting for her stories. "
" This was my favorite. I loved the spiritual piece to it and the plantation/old money/low country theme. "
" Excellent weekend read. Love how the author grabs one at the first page and chats merrily along until the ending. Always leaves me wanting more.Good family saga. "
" After 100 pages I couldn't take it anymore. It's hard to read about characters who can't seem to make a good decision to save their lives. "
" My favorite - have read it several times through the years... "
" It was a good story. The writing wasn't that great. "
" Great....loved it. "
" Not as good as Sullivan's Island, but enjoyable. "
" I had not read anything from this author before was pleased that this was an easy reading book that held my attention to the very end. It was very very good and I couldn't was to read the sequel...Lowcountry Summer. "
" Caroline is the daugher of a souther diava 'Miss Lavina'. She leaves her New York home and cheating husband with her son to return to her roots. Nice souther read. "
" Interesting, but not to a southern woman who has lived this!! It does conirm that we all have the same history South of the Mason Dixon Line! "
" Some fun characters from South Carolina low country, but the book is of uneven quality. Quite a bit of drivel from main character. "
" This is one of Frank's earlier novels, and one of my favorites for something fun, something light but not mindless, with an intoxicating, sometimes-sentimental, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, taste of the South. "
" just makes me want to hit the beach for vacation~~ liked it.. like her 'fun' style "
" This book barely held my interest and then, about 2/3 way through, it lost it entirely. Simply got a little too moralistic and preachy for me. "
" Vicki sent this to me three years ago. Glad I have finally cracked it open, I'm liking it. "
" A good mother / daughter - family dysfunction tale. Enjoyed reading about the setting - the ACE Basin. "
" I read this book for the second time before reading the author's new book, "Low Country Summer." This book was heartwarming and had a great storyline. I loved it! "
" This is a pretty long book and a lot of things happen! The author tends to let side stories drop and the main character drove me a little crazy - but a decent summer read if you want to read about Charleston. "
" I really, really enjoyed this book. Would give it 4.5 stars if possible. Will write a more detailed review after I have time to think about it. Can't wait to read more books by this author! "
Dorothea Benton Frank (1951–2019) was the New York Times bestselling author of Bulls Island, The Christmas Pearl, The Land of Mango Sunsets, and many other books. She appeared on the Today show and Parker Ladd’s Book Talk. She was a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues, such as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Susie Breck’s work has garnered awards both as narrator and director. She won an Audie Award, the audiobook industry’s top honor, for her narration of Sharyn McCrumb’s Ghost Riders. She is married to fellow voice talent Dick Hill, an AudioFile Golden Voice.
Audiobooks Were Restored to Your Cart
[ShoppingCartItemsAddedOnMerge] audiobook(s) were left in your cart from a previous visit, and saved to your account for your convenience. You may view or remove these audiobooks on the shopping cart page.