The Tree of Love

She was a young white plantation girl, walking with her mother on the way to school. He was a boy of mixed race, traveling with his mother in the opposite direction. From the second their eyes met in front of the old oak tree, they recognized each other as the love of a lifetime. But in nineteenth-century South Carolina, social standards—and the law—would forbid them from even speaking.

So Rosanne and Willie turned to writing notes, and leaving them in the same oak tree where they first saw each other. Now in their teens, they’ve been spilling their hearts out on paper for years—without daring to risk the consequences of meeting in person.

But family suspicions are running high, and when a note doesn’t make it to its intended destination, Rosanne’s parents have proof of the relationship—with dramatic and devastating results.

The Tree of Love is a striking family narrative exploring Southern history and culture while paying tribute to the enduring power of true love.