I bought this book thinking that it would be a light fluff piece about the South being gone and all of that. I read it in a weekend, and I simply could not put this wonderful book down. I will warn the fainthearted, there are scenes in which two women are intimate with one another. The whole story is just wonderful, and growing up in the South, you simply KNOW what Florence is talking about. You just understand. Like being hot and sticky from the humidity in the summer, if you are a Southerner as am I, you will relate to many of the things referenced in this book. A great read. I am keeping my copy, but I do let friends know of the title. I have the original cover with the Confederate garter on the leg in the air. Cannot bring myself to share that with others.