Daisy

About the book

Looking back on childhood, Daisy describes being separated from her parents after her father's injury and sent to Magnolia, the plantation home of her Aunt Gary. There her strict governess Miss Pinshon and her cousin Preston help define a world in which obedience is expected and established customs seldom invite scrutiny. Daisy's Christian faith, however, makes the treatment of the people enslaved on the estate a matter she cannot simply leave to adults. The narrative follows education beyond formal lessons, carrying her into school life and the military society of West Point as the national division approaches war. Warner presents moral growth through conversations, small decisions, and conflicts between affection and conviction, while the child's limited position gives those conflicts their immediate pressure.

• Conscience and obedience
• Slavery and religious responsibility
• Education before civil war

Why read it

The first-person childhood perspective shows ethical disagreement developing within intimate relationships and ordinary household routines.

Ward, Lock & Co. English edition credited to Elizabeth Wetherell; no publication year stated