Fatal Flowers : On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (Hill Street Classics) [Paperback]

Rosemary Daniell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hill Street Classics | Publication Date: September 1999

The cathartic, deeply personal result of Daniell's desire to cope with her mother Melissa's suicide at the age of 60, Fatal Flowers became an instant classic, a roadmap for Southern women in the communal quest to confront and explode the stereotypes that have long repressed and silenced them. Since its original publication two decades ago, this book's supporting audience has steadily increased. Its taboo-shattering descriptions of sexual awakening and self-fulfilment resonate across generations, representing an everywoman's account of the struggle for female identity in a South still often dominated by male superiority and rigid sexual mores.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Hill Street Press; 1st edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892514265
• ISBN-13: 978-1892514264
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,387,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of women (and men) need to read this book, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fatal Flowers : On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (Hill Street Classics) (Paperback)

I was working in a bookstore in the late 1980s when a dear friend thirty years older than myself put a copy of FATAL FLOWERS in my hand and told me to read it; that it had changed her life and might mine, or at least open my eyes to a new way of seeing and understanding women. How right she was. It did more than open my young male eyes, suddenly I started noticing everywhere around me the kinds of "issues" Daniell taught me to see affecting my young and old female friends. Aside from that, it is superbly written and good old fashioned storytelling. I read it straight through in three days. I'm very glad this important book is back in print. A lot of women (and men) need to read it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing Your Story to Save Your Life: Rosemary's Way, August 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fatal Flowers : On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (Hill Street Classics) (Paperback)

This book is a beautifully presented, 25-year anniversary reprint of a ground-breaking memoir from the Southern '70's. Its cover is one example of the ample photographs included throughout, which illuminate the author's life story. It is still just as personal, and just as gripping, as it was when first published. Because it tells of the wild ways of the so-called Sexual Revolution, it may not be for everyone; yet it is much more than such groupie stories as, "I'm Here With the Band." Daniell is also a poet, novelist, and journalist, whose creative non-fiction makes you see why many writers reccommend journalism as crucial training. I think would-be writers will find this book exciting, as well as readers who want a story they cannot stop reading. When published it was remarkable for its writer, as a woman, to discuss the things she did in such distinctive and daring language--not to mention, do what she did, such as her "sexual sky-diving" episode. Because of the conclusions Daniell reaches, as well as the story she tells, it is still a daring and controversial sort of book. I am one reader who cannot stop reading it, and I have reviewed it for College Seminars, for its rich themes and imagistic language. Along with her other books, Fatal Flowers is material for many critical studies--as well as a book that will hold your interest and keep you company at four in the morning. P.S. A banner on this page asks for comments from those under 13. If there is such a thing as a rating--this book is not for those under 13, in my opinon. Or even under 18, for that matter. But for those to whom life seen through a fine consciousness is exciting, this book is disturbingly excellent.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fatal Flowers, March 17, 2000

By 

Ora Maurer (Auburn, AL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fatal Flowers : On Sin, Sex, and Suicide in the Deep South (Hill Street Classics) (Paperback)

I felt validation for every "bad" thought as a young girl. The feeling that I was the only person curious about sex has persisted into adulthood. There is a shared triumph of every old Southern mold I felt I broke and guilt for the many I have kept alive through my own daughter. I related to the women in this book, through divorce, and rebellion. It should be required reading for every young woman, and her mother. It could break down the barriers of resentment we feel towards our parents. We all just do the best we can with what we have, sometimes it comes out okay, and sometimes we find it hard to live with our mistakes.