In 1796, the Caribbean is rife with war and tension which threaten to cut deep into the peaceful island of Trinidad. When the mixed race beauty, Elena (Ti Marie) meets young, impetuous aristocrat, Barry Wingate, passion flares into forbidden love. Amid the violence of revolt, tortue and conquest, the two must defy the savage times as they challenge slavery and racism.
Excerpt
THE LOVERS MEET AGAIN AFTER BRITISH CONQUEST OF THE ISLAND
"I'm deeply saddened that my countrymen are the cause of all this, Elena." Barry looked uncomfortably away from the magnetism of her eyes. "You must hate the British..." He fidgeted before continuing. "Please let me say this...under the British, Trinidad might nust prove to be the place where the continuation of slavery is challenged. Believe me, in England there are people who will oppose the cruelties and extremes of Governor Picton."
They walked aimlessly in pregnant silence until he continued, "You do know that in England there is a movement afoot to end the slave trade...and that..."
I know of it, Barry, but I also know that the movement is dying and the slave trade is growing," interrupted Elena, speaking passionately. "Look at the French, they say they have abolished slavery but are they only trying to use black men to fight their battles? Their revolution? When the war is over, will black men still be free? And...and, look what is happening meanwhile. The royalists are simply coming here with their slaves.
"Barry, the trade must be stopped, but it's not just the trade, its slavery, the whole rotten thing! It's bad, bad in every way! Here at Santa Clara the horrors don't touch us, but to own people is still wrong. They are not brainless animals. The Spanish law at least admitted that, but these barbarian English..."
Elena had become quite agitated. It was all Barry could do to resist comforting her in his arms. He kept his eyes down.
They reached a frangipani tree. Elena leaned her arm along a low, flowering branch. When Barry turned to her, she presented a lovely picture framed, as it were by the frangipani. Some of the fragrant white flowers had fallen on her hair, and absently he reached over to remove them. It was an unconsciously intimate gesture. He found himself entrapped by her nearness and aroused by the intoxicating scent of the frangipani. An unseen force seemed to pull them closer. Elena showed no sign of resisting. She closed her eyes in delicious anticipation of the fulfillment of an unspoken longing.
Professional Reviews
Ti Marie, Quality Historical Fiction
READER VIEWS REVIEW OF TI MARIE BY VALERIE BELGRAVE
“Ti Marie” takes you into the late 1700’s, into the lives of a family living on the island of Trinidad. Initially, living on the island was very rough and involved a lot of hardships, especially to the people who weren’t originally from there. This was the case for Don Diego de Las Flores and his family. He went to Trinidad to develop his Santa Clara cocoa estate. When he lost his wife, a mystical island woman, named Yei, stepped in and helped his family. Yei, also known as a healer, carried herself very regally. When she has twin daughters, one white, one black , the islanders believe that they are very powerful.
Both daughters are beautiful, however, Elena, the black one, has a special beauty that makes her stand out. This attracts the attention of Barry Wingate, an English aristocrat, who is hiding out on the island while his family is having murder charges against him dropped. Barry and Elena fall for each other; however, due to his family obligations, he feels he is unable to act upon it. It would be unheard of for an Englishman of nobility to marry a black woman. He thinks that she would be miserable in England.
There are also other relationships on the Santa Clara estate that need resolution and healing. Valerie Belgrave draws you into the heart of each one. Further upsetting the personal relationships, consequences of the war switch the power of the island over to a very cruel man. He has no sympathy towards the slaves and is so cruel to them, that he forces many to become violent and revolt. The people of Santa Clara do not share his sentiments, but in spite of this , they are also seriously affected by this man’s actions. The lives of the free blacks are also affected. Seeing the cruelty that is inflicted on innocent people really helps Barry to grow up. Much has to be done to overcome the damage that this evil man has wrecked upon this peaceful place.
“Ti Marie” is a beautiful story. It is also very heart-wrenching. If you are looking for a light, fluffy novel to read, this is not the one for you. I have to admit, that this story drew tears to my eyes, several times. Belgrave brings “Ti Marie” alive so that the people are real. She develops their characters and draws them close to your heart. The main characters have to endure great hardships, yet this also adds to their depth of character. I am really glad that I had a chance to read a novel of this quality. The lore of the people of Trinidad and the devastation caused by slavery are both infused throughout the story. I highly, highly recommend this novel to fans of quality historical fiction. Belgrave will not let you down.
Ti Marie: Lush Period Romance
KIRKUS DISCOVERIES
Racism, revolution and love roil the Caribbean island of Trinidad in this sprawling historical melodrama.
The cocoa plantation of Santa Clara is a wildly exotic cross-section of 18th-century Creole life. Owned by paternalistic Spaniard Don Diego and his children Jose and Juanita, the household includes Yei, a half-Indian, half-black medicine woman, Carmen and Eléna, her twin daughters by an unidentified white man, and Louis, an eccentric French tutor and political radical. It’s a microcosm of easygoing, multicultural Trinidad, where slavery is relatively humane, the races mingle and a large population of free people of color live in relative prosperity. Enter Barry, a young Englishman with abolitionist leanings. He’s promptly smitten by the island and Eléna, “the most stunningly beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on” and the embodiment of the “dazzling beauty of black women.” Eléna, in turn, swoons at his ardent wooing—“to see you is to know all that is good and beautiful,” he gushes—and anti-slavery sentiments; his golden hair and piercing blue eyes don’t hurt either. Alas, the world won’t let these soulmates be: The French Revolution blows up and splits the planters into warring republican and royalist factions; the British capture the island and impose a draconian new slave code that sparks uprisings; Barry’s aristocratic family can be counted on to nix marriage to a mixed-race woman. The biggest obstacles, though, are the tremulous emotional miscues that keep the lovers from spitting out their true feelings. Meanwhile, Barry’s free black manservant Fist faces altogether more serious challenges as he seeks revenge for a murder. The tumultuous plot hews closely to melodramatic conventions, but Trinidadian novelist Belgrave handles them skillfully. She convincingly depicts a broad palette of social milieus and character types, from slaves to peers of the realm, using them to paint an engrossing portrait of island society in upheaval.
The result is a lush period romance in a troubled tropical paradise.
Ti Marie; Belgrave writes movingly
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COFFEE TIME ROMANCE REVIEWS
Marie Elena is a young mulatto woman, gracious, the epitome of beauty, highly respected by the de la Flores family and her peers alike. Favoured, Eléna enjoys living a unique and sheltered life on the fine Santa Clara estate in Trinidad. Well versed in the use of local herbs and medicines, Eléna regularly administers medical attention to household members and slaves living on the compound.
The Honourable Barry Wingate is British. On arrival in Trinidad, whilst travelling around on horseback, familiarising himself with the area, Barry accidentally collides with Eléna and is instantly in fascination of her beauty and velvety brown skin. When Barry returns to his quarters, his desires totally consume him to the extent that he is unable to erase the image of Eléna from his memory.
Forcibly suppressing their feelings and emotions, Elena and Barry reluctantly entertain the concept of a romance. They deliberately keep their distance, behaving civilly towards each other during each encounter. Elena dismisses ideas of romancing a white man and a foreigner knowing that life would be more peaceful with a fitting suitor, like the dashingly handsome mulatto, Albert Fontainebleau who is proposing marriage to her. Clutching at possibilities to win Elena, Barry realizes that he cannot remain in Trinidad as he is due to return to Britain where Elena would not be accepted by his family or the British people.
Valerie Belgrave writes, so movingly about the emotional turmoil of Elena and Barry. Maturing, Elena searches within for the truth to enable her to understand and come to terms with her reality. Barry is finding that the longer he remains in Trinidad he is becoming more alienated to Britain. The well rounded secondary characters are all significant to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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