The Cotton Queen [Paperback]

Pamela Morsi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

Spanning 50 years, this novel chronicles the cycles, the joys, and the animosity that make up the relationship between a mother and daughter. Each woman, a product of her generation, is influenced, and sometimes limited, by the expectations of the era in which she lives. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Morsi's fifth novel chronicles three generations of McKinney, Texas, beauty queens as they rediscover the strength of family bonds in the wake of disappointment. Cotton Queen runner-up and mother of reluctant queen Laney, Babs Hoffman is a World War II widow and a rape survivor who doesn't come fully back to life until psychotherapy and feminism invent new possibilities for her. Laney, on the other hand, learns the hard way that liberation isn't the be-all end-all: character counts, love skews everything and there are worse things for a woman to do than to put on a pretty dress. The strength of Morsi's characters outweigh the novel's saccharine moments; Morsi's many fans will appreciate this book.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Why do some mothers try to bend their daughters to their will when this behavior makes daughters rebel all the more? Morsi explores this dynamic in the mother--daughter relationship of Babs and Laney. Babs is a Stepford wife, her home and person reflecting the best that McKinney, Texas, has ever seen. But all Laney knows is that her mother is highly critical, never listens to her, and is more concerned with outward appearances than with her daughter's life. In chapters that alternate their points of view, Morsi reveals that Babs, who has always had a hard time, experienced one particularly horrifying moment that left an indelible impression on her and that resonates throughout her life. Unaware of her mother's difficulties, Laney seems to base her life choices on doing the exact opposite of what her mother would do. Running the gamut from enjoyably amusing to achingly sad, Morsi's involving tale of mother and daughter, two strong women, explores the hidden capacities for understanding and the healing power of reconciliation. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Mira (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778322696
• ISBN-13: 978-0778322696
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

National bestseller, RWA Hall of Fame member and two-time RITA winner, Pamela Morsi began writing in 1990 creating historical romance novels set in the small towns and farms of the early twentieth century. She was an immediate success garnering awards and accolades from reviewers, readers and peers. In 2000, with a new millennium, she decided to move in the direction of mainstream fiction. Her recent works depict the voices of ordinary people overcoming everyday challenges. Librarian Pamela Morsi once asked herself what she would do if she ever won the lottery. She decided, given the chance, that she would spend her time writing fiction. Now, years later, she is still waiting to win the lottery, but THE BENTLEY'S BUY A BUICK is her twenty-third full-length novel. Pam lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mother Daughter Relationships - not always easy, May 16, 2006

By 

Annie "bookwishes4" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Cotton Queen (Paperback)

When The Cotton Queen opens it is the year 2004 and Laney Hoffman is being confronted by her teenage daughter Rachel about what the problem is between Laney and her mother Babs.

The story quickly moves back in time to when Babs was just a teenage girl with her whole life in front of her. She married her highschool sweet heart Tom, but time was not on their side. He was killed in an accident which left Babs on her own fighting for the right to keep Laney. Feeling that she had no choice, Babs moved away from her small town in Texas to live in Dallas. While there with Laney one more incident took place which forever changed the direction that Babs life was to take and altered her relationship with Laney.

Told in alternating narratives between Laney and Babs we slowly watch this mother daughter relationship change and not always for the better.

The Cotton Queen is not a book that is all sunshine and roses, but its a believable story that is filled with love, disagreements, and brings you full circle back to the year 2004.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like mother, like daughter, July 9, 2006

By 

C. Hill (Oregon, U.S.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cotton Queen (Paperback)

When Babs Hoffman loses her husband after just a few years of marriage, she resists the idea of remarrying and instead moves herself and her young daughter, Laney, to Dallas. But what happens to her there changes the course of her life forever, and transforms her into an overprotective mother who is scared of the world.

Over the years, Babs struggles to make Laney into the person she thinks she should be. But to her dismay, Laney is just as stubborn as Babs is herself. Typical mother-daughter conflict ensues, but Morsi has such a fresh and engaging writing style that the story is interesting and compelling.

Ultimately, this book follows the lives of Babs, Laney, and Rachel (Laney's daughter) as they grow up, discover themselves, explore the world, and find that sometimes home is indeed the best place. Well-written and fast-paced, this book is hard to put down.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars huge generational war, February 1, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cotton Queen (Paperback)

In McKinney, Texas Babs reaches the finals of the Cotton Queen Beauty pageant. There she meets and eventually marries air force mechanic Tom Hoffman. However, the happy couple remains together a short time as he dies in a maintenance accident during World War II. She returns home to raise their daughter Laney by herself though she has no employable skills as she was not trained for anything but marriage.

Years later Laney resents her June Cleaver 1950s mother. Instead Laney revolts holding her mom in contempt. To her chagrin, her seventeen years old daughter Rachel has entered the Cotton Queen pageant that Laney has always boycotted as demeaning. While Rachel understands both her mother and grandmother, she walks the middle wanting both to make peace and be there for her while knowing her father Stan and her two younger brothers will support her endeavor.

The story line rotates between Babs and Laney so that the audience obtains a close look at a generation gap wider than the Grand Canyon. The only common ground between the two females seems their love for Rachel (and her two brothers though they play minor roles). Interestingly both Rachel and Stan believe that Babs and Laney are two peas in a pod. Pamela Morsi provides an interesting look at a huge generational war.

Harriet Klausner