The Indigo Girl

I read a terrific historical fiction novel called The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd. The story is based on a real woman named Eliza Lucas who is 16 years old in the year 1739. Her father owns three plantations in South Carolina. He is about to embark to a Caribbean island to pursue his military career. He leaves Eliza in charge of his estates including his slaves. Her father is using the money from the estates to further his career and they are in danger of loosing ownership. Eliza gets the idea to grow indigo to increase their finances. The book was written based on letters she wrote. South Carolina became one of the biggest exporters of indigo. When she died in 1793, George Washington volunteered to be a pall bearer.