CLAIRE CONSIDERS

CLAIRE CONSIDERS

Margaret: The Rose of Goodwood by Donna Meredith

“Margaret: The Rose of Goodwood” (2024), by Donna Meredith, is a lively, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable historical novel of transformation set in North Florida from 1917 to 1978. Well-written—as are all of author Meredith’s several books—“The Rose of Goodwood” is filled with crisp prose, exacting details, meticulous historical research, and engrossing plotlines, all gathered together to tell a fascinating story about Margaret Wilson Hodges Hood, who rose from poverty to become a prominent member of Tallahassee, Florida elite. Along the way, Margaret transforms not just herself but also an old plantation known as Goodwood into a showcase mansion with elegant gardens, now a renowned public museum site in the heart of Tallahassee. “The Rose of Goodwood” novel is grand, not unlike the Goodwood Museum, and the book is worthy of reading for the sheer enjoyment of a good tale as well as for its educational value.

When readers first meet 18-year-old Margaret in the early chapters, she has already transformed herself from Maggie, a failed Georgia tenant farmer’s daughter, into Margaret, a friendly clerk in an upscale Tallahassee department store. But bigger transformations await, soon set into action when she models a lovely dress for a customer. As she twirls about, showing off the dress for the potential buyer, an aristocratic looking but decidedly more mature man watches. Though he enters the store in search of new gloves, he finds a pretty young woman who quickly charms him.

The man is William Cabot Hodges, and like Margaret, he was a real person of importance in Florida until his death in 1940. At the time he first becomes enchanted with young Margaret, he is an aspiring politician having already lost a bid to be governor in 1912. He is also, as Margaret’s father says, a “big-shot lawyer.” When she first meets him at the store, Margaret is impressed by his general appearance, his voice, and his scent—something she recognizes as sandalwood. But by the time she receives an invitation to attend an important social function with him and his mother, Margaret has tilted her thinking, seeing him as “really old” and “a blowhard besides.” She contemplates turning down the invitation because she “would feel like a weed in a flower garden at a fancy dinner.”

Still, she goes with William and thus begins their courtship. She recognizes his ambitions (“He sought power the way ordinary humans sought water.”) In turn, he recognizes Margaret’s social awkwardness and she is soon sent off to nearby Thomasville, Georgia, for an extensive, cram course at a finishing school. William intends to turn her into a socialite and a worthy companion—someone who will boost his chances at becoming governor with her charm and by becoming a gracious hostess of lavish parties attended by important people. And, he intends that she bear him heirs. He will never be governor, but he will become an influential state senator.

Transformed yet again by the finishing school experience, Margaret marries her William, and soon they become a popular, sought-after couple in the social scene of Tallahassee. Though their relationship begins with a seemingly happy blend of Pygmalion and Cinderella, their marriage will not have a happy-ever-after ending. Will has a cruel side to him, illustrated by the author’s adept use of some of his own postcards and belittling words. He is unfaithful to Margaret and seems to take this as his right, without any particular effort to hide his behavior. Other tragedies, loss, and abrupt turns in life will befall Margaret and threaten to derail her hard-fought efforts to remain happy. Her strength and resilience are important aspects of the story. Indeed, despite the downturns, Margaret’s character is such that she “realized I had a choice. I could choose to be happy.”

That the marriage will falter is foreseeable, especially given the age differences. Her inability to bear a child also hurts their chances of long-term happiness and is especially painful to Margaret. She finds comfort and joy, however, with her nieces and a nephew and other children in her family and circle, becoming near to a mother to one niece. She also enjoys a supportive, loyal friendship with Mattie Grice, a Black maid, and with her close friend Carra Adams. A second marriage to a dashing younger man after Will’s death offers her yet another chance at marital happiness.

Margaret’s transformation from shop girl to sought-after political hostess and influential socialite is also not the only transformation at the heart of the novel. Tallahassee, the capital city of Florida, is also transformed during the novel from a rustic, small city to an important center of politics, money, and power. And, Goodwood Plantation is also transformed by Margaret after Will bought it in 1925. In the novel, Will purchases Goodwood as “the ultimate penance,” but one Margaret “accepted with pleasure.” Will and Margaret build an aviary, expand the gardens, especially with roses which they both love, and Margaret displays exquisite, refined taste in improvements she makes to the house.

While most of the characters in the historical novel are based upon real people, author Donna Meredith invents a few, including Susannah Ross. Meredith makes good use of Ross to “show/not tell” Margaret’s innate kindness. At first Ross is a nemesis and an unlikable, vain woman with a far better social pedigree who can’t forgive Margaret for marrying well. When fortunes and roles change, and Ross needs help, Margaret has a chance to exact revenge for some of the nastiness Ross had tossed her way. Instead, after soul-searching, Margaret extends a hand to help the woman.

As explained in the preface, “The Rose of Goodwood” is a novel based upon the life of Margaret Wilson Hodges Hood, the last woman to live in the mansion known as Goodwood. Meredith, an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction and with a journalistic background, stays close to documented facts, utilizing extensive, careful research and interviews to re-create Margaret’s world and life. As Meredith notes: “Actual letters, postcards and interviews written by the main characters are used in the text with spelling and grammar errors intact.” However, such “historical artifacts” are supplemented with Meredith’s own creativity and imagination.

All in all, “Margaret: the Rose of Goodwood” is an excellent, absorbing, and ultimately inspiring book. It is illustrated with photographs, many from the Goodwood archives, and is available in print and as an ebook.

Donna Meredith is Editor of SOUTHERN LITERARY REVIEW and the author of seven award-winning books, all featuring flawed women who become stronger over the course of their journeys. "One of the joys of writing--and reading--for me is learning something new," she says. "I want my writing to make a difference, however small, in the world." That means tackling issues like the challenge of balancing environmental and economic needs, women's issues, spousal abuse, race relations, and the need for better education in our country.

Women's journeys in life and in fiction have long been an interest of Donna's. Her newest title, MARGARET: THE ROSE OF GOODWOOD, is historical fiction based on the last woman to live in the Tallahassee mansion known as Goodwood. It follows Margaret's journey from a tenant farmer and seamstress's daughter to become Florida's premier hostess, entertaining governors and supreme court justices. "This book required a deep dive into the archives at Goodwood," Donna says. "I spent a couple of years working with docents, archival librarians, and descendants to pull Margaret's story together.”