Daughter of Providence: poignant portrait of sisters

August 11, 2011

Julie Drew never has lived in Rhode Island,yet she chose to set her debut novel, Daughter of Providence in our quaint little state.
“I'm originally from Florida, and New England has always loomed large in my imagination,Drew said recently by email. “The North Atlantic Coast, the low stone walls everywhere, the history, the cold winters. It's so different from what I knew as a child so I was fascinated and romanticized it.”

It turns out that Drew's husband grew up in South County and therein lies her so called “Rhode Island connection.”

The novel itself is set in the fictionalized town of Milford, Rhode Island during 1934 and in the midst of the Great Depression. The story centers around 24-year-old Anne Dodge, whose father dreams of her successful marriage and who herself dreams of handcrafting wooden boats by the sea. In the summer of 1934, Anne's long-lost half-sister Maria Cristina comes to live with Anne and her father Samuel, a successful mill owner and community pillar.

Anne's mother Inez left the family mysteriously when Anne was six, forcing Samuel to raise Anne on his own. Maria Cristina, at 13 years old, was raised by her mother and her Portuguese immigrant grandparents until all three died. Samuel begrudgingly invites Maria Cristina to live with Anne and himself. The story develops as Anne and Maria Cristina gradually become as close as sisters.

On the day of Maria Cristina's arrival in Milford, a mysterious murder occurs in the marshlands of a Portuguese immigrant boy from Warwick and the whole town is stirring with the news. The Dodge mill is also in the process of reopening, which creates turmoil among the residents and introduces the idea of labor unions to Milford.

The novel has a nice story and the writing and descriptive language helped readers visualize the story scene by scene. The description of the characters and, particularly, the budding relationship between the two sisters helped bring the words off the page and into the heart.

Native Rhode Islanders will find the Ocean State references in the book were confusing and not very specific. South County is a unique place and the author explains that Milford is based on a composite of several towns and villages: “My own experience in RI is in Wakefield, Jerusalem, Galilee, and Narragansett, primarily,” she said. “That part of the state feels most familiar to me and by placing Milford there I was able to see the place much more clearly.”

Drew drops names such as Pawtucket, Providence and Warwick to convey sense of location in terms of Milford and talks about history that any reference book could give you, such as the textile industry in the 20th century in RI as well as the coastal feel of Narragansett Bay and fictional Kingston Cove. The first several chapters try too hard to place the characters in Rhode Island, though, and it seems as though this waterfront community could really be anywhere on the East Coast.

This book can be recommended for the poignant story with its not so fairytale unhappy ending. It reminds us of our own mortality and how the decisions we make truly affect the lives of those around us.

Allison A. Smith is a graphic artist for Southern Rhode Island Newspapers. She can be reached at asmith@ricentral.com..