The Blacksmith's Daughter

Book excerpt: William Brown, one of the last blacksmiths in Atlanta, has become a rich and powerful man buying and selling land and requiring only the best for his wife Bira, his crippled son and five unmarried daughters. The Piano Man wanders into this life enticed by the carefree youngest daughter June, but destined to marry the eldest sister according to the blacksmiths plan. Junes desire to change these plans leads the proud family down a path that could destroy everything the blacksmith has worked for. A heart wrenching tale of an autocratic fathers attempt to control the lives of his five daughters and in the process re-invent his sense of self. . .Minnette Coleman, in lyrical fashion, paints a downward spiral of envy. The Blacksmiths Daughter is a singular tale of love and longing but also one of redemption told through the voice of a poet. - Grace F. Edwards author, The Mali Anderson Mysteries The really masterly aspect of this book, beyond its authentic voice, its entirely credible characters and its compelling situations delivered in hypnotically cadenced prose, is the way it twists and turns you as to how you react to the behavior and values of the blacksmith himself. - Tim Roux author- The Dance of the Pheasodile (Night Publishing) An untold historical narrative of dedication to self-sufficiency and advanced education is interlaced within this imaginative love story focusing on family and community. Crisp, vibrant poetic imagery colors the dialogue about the big brown blacksmith and his world of the1920s in Atlanta. Janice White Sikes Rogers, Specialist in Southern History Atlanta Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture & History