The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove - by Susan Gregg Gilmore Paperback

About the Book

Born to prominent but dysfunctional Nashville parents, Bezellia Grove leans on disregarded African-American servants as substitute family figures and incites wrath from both groups when she pursues an interracial relationship.

Book Synopsis

A privileged Southern girl must choose between her heart and her family's expectations in this heartfelt novel from the author of The Funeral Dress.

"Simply a wonderful book . . . bold and tender and memorable."--Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie

It's hard to be your own person, especially if your name is Bezellia Grove.

Relationships are complicated in 1960s Nashville, where society is neatly ordered by class, status, and skin color. For the Groves, one of the city's most prominent families, and particularly Bezellia, uniquely named for a fiery ancestor, it's especially difficult. Bezellia is closer to the family's black servants, her nanny, Maizelle, and the handyman, Nathaniel, than she is to her alcoholic mother and her distant, inaccessible father. When Bezellia has a clandestine affair with Nathaniel's son Samuel, their romance is met with anger and fear from both families. In a time and place where rebelling against the rules carries a steep price, Bezellia Grove must decide which of her names will be the one that defines her.

Review Quotes

"Susan Gregg Gilmore's second novel is brimming with charm."--Bookpage

"Much like The Help, Bezellia's story juxtaposes the societal restrictions on women of the 1960s with the civil-rights struggle of Nashville's black community. Only Gilmore's heroine becomes more embroiled in racism through an interracial romance with the son of the family's handyman."--Chattanooga Times Free Press

"Nobody knows how to weave a spell better than Susan Gregg Gilmore, as she draws us into the precarious childhood and complicated life of poor little rich girl Bezellia Grove, whose path winds through some of the South's darkest woods--race, class, insanity--familiar ground for a Southern novel? Not so fast--surprises await. This novel is a pure enchantment."--Lee Smith, author of Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger and The Last Girls

"The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove is simply a wonderful book, a deeply felt story of caring so powerful it must be improper. Yet the telling is bold and tender and memorable, and we are given a character in Bezellia Grove that stands among the grandest of our recent literary figures. Remember also the name of Susan Gregg Gilmore, the gifted writer who made the words that make the magic. She is destined to be a star."--Terry Kay, author of To Dance with the White Dog and The Book of Marie

"I read The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove all in one sitting, swept up in Bezellia's remarkable life and her moving quest to be loved the right way. Now I look forward to many more stories from the immensely talented Susan Gregg Gilmore, a powerful new voice in Southern literature."--Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot

"Susan Gregg Gilmore gives us a strong woman's voice, singing back through time the honest ballad of a family in turmoil and a culture in the midst of upheaval. Gilmore is not afraid to show the two-steps-forward-one-step-back dance of change, to remind us how deeply rooted ideas can run, and how fragile courage can be and how necessary. An excellent novel."--Darnell Arnoult, author of Sufficient Grace

"Susan Gregg Gilmore's smart, gripping, and ultimately hopeful tale of love and tough choices in the dark hours before the dawn of the New South rings true and fine. I fell in love with the voice of Bezellia Grove, her sharp wit covering her soft heart, and you will too."--Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Backseat Saints

About the Author

SUSAN GREGG GILMORE is the author of the novel Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. She has written for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Los Angeles Times and the Christian Science Monitor. Born in Nashville, she lives in Tennessee with her husband and three daughters.