The Empress of One

by Faith Sullivan

Book Overview

Growing up in the 1930s and 1940s as a creative child in a restrictive environment, Sally Wheeler struggles to cope with her mother Stella's increasing depression and estrangement from her family. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571310169
• ISBN13: 9781571310163
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Another beautifully written book by Faith Sullivan.

I don't agree that this novel is too long at all! From the very beginning to the last page, I was caught up in the story of Sally Wheeler and how her life was affected by her severely depressed mother, though during the time of WWII and post-war America, she was considered certifiably crazy.This isn't a sequel to "The Cape Ann," per se, as much as a parallel story that shows some of the events from that book from another point of view and then focuses on Sally's life. As in "The Cape Ann," there are other storylines that are nearly as compelling as the main one, including Katherine Albers' relationship with her father, Mr. Davis and the Motley's acting troupe, and Lark's return at the end.When Stella's depression really starts to make a turn for the worse and she is institutionalized, Sally is branded as the daughter of the crazy woman and it is interesting to see how this affects her in her relationships (especially with her boyfriend Cole and her father) and her view of herself. Her obvious longing for the mother she never really had and the love/hate tug-of-war that goes on inside her are believable and poignant.If you didn't want "The Cape Ann" to end and are wondering what became of Sally, Lark, and Beverly, then you will want to read this novel to tie up some loose ends. I only hope that Faith Sullivan will continue the trend with Beverly's story, and maybe even Katherine's.

Great story

A great follow up to The Cape Ann. I agree with other reviews in the fact that the first few chapters of the book seemed like one re-run of The Cape Ann but then the book finally takes off and really becomes its own great story. Faith Sullivan brings the characters to life and by the end of the book you don't want to leave Harvester.

One one problem with this book.......

My only problem with this book is that I had to wait much to long for it after I read The Cape Ann............The two are must reads.

Excellent book

I thought the author did a great job revealing the struggle of a mother with depression as well as the struggle of a daughter with a depressed mother. As such a daughter myself, I empathized with the daughter in the book. I agree with a previous reviewer, though, that there were quite a few unanswered questions at the end of the book. I wonder if the author did that deliberately - so we will read her next book. That seems sort of tricky. I think books should be complete at the end. That's my only criticism of this book.

Beautiful Read

Faith Sullivan does a wonderful job of describing the main character's development from early childhood up to adulthood. I felt as if I knew the main character (Sally) inside and out. The author also has a way of making you feel as if you know all of the other characters deeply as well. I can't wait to read her earlier book, The Cape Ann, which includes the same characters but with the emphasis on the life of another girl (Lark). A fabulous vacation (ie. relaxing!) read.