The Book Woman's Daughter

Retta and Honey have dinner with Retta’s nephew, Alonzo, who gets drunk and knocks over his glass. After he heads home, Retta and Honey sit on the porch. After Retta feeds her cat, they talk about Retta attending the Midnight School in 1913. This was where she learned to read and write in a schoolhouse at night with other adults. Honey remembers her Mama talking about the importance of literacy, and Honey wishes she could have attended a school (rather than only being homeschooled). Retta struggles with walking after getting up from her chair, claiming it is fatigue and old age. Honey helps her into bed, which she warms with a pig-shaped piece of pottery filled with hot water (a bedpig), and watches Retta wince in her sleep.

Honey visits Pearl in the tower three days later and admires Pearl’s things, such as her toys, the Osborne Firefinder (a tool to locate fires and smoke), and her various ledgers. They chat, and Honey gives Pearl some of the peach leather sweets. Pearl cooks them a rattlesnake and gives Honey a soda. When Pearl finds out Retta was appointed Honey’s guardian, she pours glasses of blackberry wine. They call Pearl’s mother, and Honey has her first phone conversation. It excites her to be able to talk to someone in another town. Pearl’s mother agrees to send her a gun, “the .410,” so she can defend herself if anyone else comes to harass her or vandalize the tower. They hear Junia and Pearl’s horse making a fuss and go outside to look into the trees.

Honey becomes concerned about Retta’s health, so she goes out to try to find the doctor or a frontier nurse. There is no answer at the nurse’s or doctor’s houses, so Honey rides Junia back to Retta’s. Concerned about the lack of light and heat in the cabin, she lights a lantern, lights the stove, and heats water for the bedpig. Honey convinces Retta to drink some hot tea and rides back out to the doctor’s house.

After struggling to communicate with the doctor’s Swedish wife, Honey learns that the doctor is in Cincinnati, Ohio. She rides to the frontier nurse’s house again, but she is still not home. After waiting for an hour, Honey leaves a note and money under a rock at the door, then goes back to Retta’s cabin. Retta is out of bed, drinking tea and eating a little bread. She says she had some hawthorn berries, which concerns Honey, who recognizes them as a treatment for heart issues.

Honey watches over Retta the whole night, and they have breakfast together the next morning. Retta seems to feel better and doesn’t return to bed until the evening. When she is dozing off, she tells Honey that her 92nd birthday was on Sunday—the day Honey spent with Pearl. Honey feels guilty, but Retta assures her that it’s okay that she forgot.

On Wednesday, Retta says she is going into town with Alonzo and convinces Honey to take Junia out for a ride. Along Honey’s ride to the watchtower, she finds some ramps to cook for Retta, which reminds her of the poisonous version of the plant. She then thinks about how a woman in a nearby holler killed her abusive husband with the poisonous lily of the valley. She put it in his supper. Honey also collects an herb to help with Retta’s eye pain.

At the fire watchtower, Pearl tells Honey how her phone line was cut and her woodpile was set on fire. Pearl saw Robbie Hardin’s red cap, but her boss, R.C., and the sheriff say they can’t help until they catch him. Since Pearl is still waiting for her gun to arrive, she’s brought her ax into the tower. She invites Honey to stay for dinner, but Honey is worried about Retta. As Honey leaves, she notices Pearl is cheered up by her horse, Pie. Honey invites Pearl over to a belated birthday dinner for Retta on Sunday.

When Honey returns to Retta’s cabin, she sees Amara Ballard—the frontier nurse—outside. Amara tells Honey that Retta is dying. Honey offers her more money for medicines to save Retta, but Amara explains that there is nothing more she can do. Inside the cabin, Alonzo explains that Retta collapsed after they went to the bank. He says a prayer over the sleeping Retta and leaves, smelling of whiskey.

When Retta wakes up, she asks Honey to help her put on her glasses and a fancy dress she sewed. Honey compliments the dress, and Retta tells Honey that it is her funeral dress. Retta also tells Honey that she signed the deed to the cabin over to Alonzo to give to Honey when she is no longer a minor. When Honey asks Retta if she can read to her, Retta asks her to read the Bible.

Amara comes inside the cabin, checks Retta’s pulse, and tells Honey she has to tend to other patients. As Honey walks her to her horse, the nurse tells Honey to keep Retta warm and comfortable. Honey asks about a ride to see her parents, and Amara agrees to take her on Saturday along her trip to Louisville. They briefly talk about funeral arrangements before Amara leaves. When Honey goes back inside, she makes tea, warms Retta’s bed, and reads the Bible to her for a few hours. Retta tells Honey she wants her to have her Bible, and Honey tells Retta she loves her. Retta’s last words are that Honey was easy to love. Honey asks her not to go.

After Retta’s death, Honey goes out on the porch and cries. Hearing her, Junia starts a commotion. Honey goes over to her, and Retta’s cat joins them. Honey rides Junia to Alonzo’s cabin, but he isn’t home. Later, Amara stops by, saying the funeral wagon will come by the next day. Honey reads the Bible and says prayers until she falls asleep. She wakes up crying a few times.

In the morning, Honey decides against telling people in town about Retta’s passing, fearing she will be taken to the House of Reform since she has no guardian. In the afternoon, the funeral wagon arrives with four men. They ride to Retta’s family cemetery and the men dig Retta’s grave. One of them, Mr. Payne, asks if anyone else wants to be there for the funeral, and offers to delay until they can arrive. Honey wonders if Alonzo will come, but he doesn’t; she is sure he is off drinking. She tells the man no one is coming and pays the workers. Mr. Payne prays and sings over the grave. After the men leave, Honey mourns alone for a while. When Junia starts getting restless, they leave the cemetery.

Back at Retta’s cabin, Honey feeds the cat and cleans. She looks through Retta’s possessions and grieves. In a copper teapot, Honey finds a collection of silver dollars from 1861, and thinks about how she will use them for a marker for Retta’s grave. She looks out the window and worries about hiding for 16 months until she turns 18.

The next day, Honey makes some tea and reads the old children’s books that Retta kept. A couple, the Spencers, knock on the door, and Honey welcomes them inside. They tell her that Alonzo sold them the cabin and they are taking possession of it on Monday. As they leave, Alonzo comes in. Honey confronts him about selling the cabin, and he cries, saying he needed the money. After arguing for a little while, Honey agrees to forgive him, but hides the silver dollar-filled teapot from him.

Honey makes them dinner and he talks about his dead wife, Lily. She was a midwife who died while traveling home from a delivery. Alonzo agrees to take some of Retta’s things to his cabin, and he tells her to keep whatever items she would like. Honey packs up some things for each of them. She selects books and teacups (and the teapot with money in it), setting aside quilts and fabric for Alonzo. Honey decides to hide out in her grandparents’ cabin.