''Property'' is a

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

novel by

Valerie Martin Valerie Martin (née Metcalf; born March 14, 1948) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her novel ''Property'' (2003) won the Orange Prize for Fiction. In 2012, ''The Observer'' named ''Property'' as one of "The 10 best historical no ...

, and was the winner of the 2003 Orange Prize. In 2012, ''The Observer'' named ''Property'' as one of "The 10 best historical novels".

Plot summary

The book is set on a

sugar plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

near

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

in 1828, and tells the story of Manon Gaudet, the wife of the plantation's owner, and Sarah, the slave Manon was given as a wedding present and who she has brought with her from the city. The story is centred on Manon and her resentment of Sarah. Sarah is not only Manon's slave, but also her husband's sex slave. The private drama of the estate is played out against the backdrop of civil unrest and slave rebellion.

Critical analyses

* Tim A. Ryan, "Mammy and Scarlett Done Gone: Complications of the Contemporary Novel of Slavery, 1986-2003." ''Calls and Responses: The American Novel of Slavery Since Gone with the Wind''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2008: 149-84.

References

2003 American novels Novels by Valerie Martin Novels about American slavery Novels set in Louisiana Women's Prize for Fiction-winning works Fiction set in 1828 Doubleday (publisher) books Novels set in the 1820s {{2000s-novel-stub