Author: Cecil L. Milliner

ISBN: 1932657398

The following review was contributed by:  NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of  Norm Goldman's Reviews       

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With Sarah, Come Home, Cecil L. Milliner picks up the reins where he last left off in the first novel Willie May Medcalf and Bend in the River.  Willie May’s children have left home with the exception of Sarah and Mary Elizabeth. Her eldest sons, Timothy and William are operating a successful warehouse business, Tom married Kate after venturing off to explore the American Frontier, Jessie, her eldest daughter had married the wealthy Carey Griffith and little Willie was working for a seamstress learning how to sew. Willie May’s youngest daughter Sarah, from her first husband, had just turned eighteen and was seeking her independence.

One day, Sarah, out of curiosity, decides to enter one of Memphis’s hotels that has a reputation of being a bordello. When the “Madame” of the bordello finds out who Sarah is, she immediately orders her to leave the premises. Unfortunately for Sarah, one of the busybodies of the town, Mrs. Orr, witnesses Sarah leaving the bordello and misinterprets what had transpired. She could hardly wait to run and tell Willie May that she saw Sarah leaving the hotel. When Willie May confronts Sarah with the information Mrs.Orr related to her, Sarah tries to explain that nothing had in fact transpired. However, Willie May refuses to listen and orders Sarah to get out of their home.     

Sarah eventually finds her way to Albany where she goes to her grand-parents old house in the hope of finding the family that purchased her grand-parents home, the Westerfields. Sarah immediately discovers that the house had been re-sold by the Westerfields to the Pierces and that Katie the maid, who worked for her grand-parents, stayed on with the Pierces. Through the kind intervention of Katie with the Pierces, Sarah was permitted to stay in the maid’s quarters. Moreover, Mr. Pierce was instrumental in getting Sarah a job as a bookkeeper with Blake Carrington. Sarah was going along fine in her new employment until one day the boss’s son, Dennis raped her.

When this happens Sarah seeks help from a Judge Halley who cooks up a scheme of getting Dennis drunk in order to trick him into marrying Sarah as she did not want to give birth to a child out of wedlock.  The judge was sure that as soon as Blake Carrington learned of his son’s marriage he would immediately seek a divorce. However, things did not turn out as planned and Sarah decides to leave Dennis and Albany. 

The remainder of the novel recounts the doings and goings of Sarah, the birth and raising of her daughter Laura, and her very close friendship with a young Irish woman, Margaret O’Shaunessy, who likewise had run away from home.   

One of the shortcomings of this novel is that it is difficult for readers to relate to the characters and in particular to get a solid sense of Sarah’s character. Furthermore, the story is less compelling than Milliner’s Willie May Medcalf, as Sarah, Come Home has a fairytale quality to it that’s a trifle oversweet. We seem to get the overwhelming feeling that in the end everything is going to be okay, although at one point Milliner does throw in a curve towards the end when Blake Carrington’s shows a great deal of anger towards his wife Patricia and his daughter-in-law Sarah.  Another shortcoming and one that robs the narrative of robust energy is the considerable ink and detail Milliner devotes to Sarah’s steam boat adventures that frankly contribute very little to the story.

Nonetheless, make no mistake, Milliner does show a great deal of promise as a good story teller who is just beginning to discover the voice and form that will eventually make him  more interesting.