Where the Rivers Merge

A Novel

by Mary Alice Monroe

On Sale: 05/13/2025

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Where the Rivers Merge

A Novel

by Mary Alice Monroe

On Sale: 05/13/2025

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Amazon Indigo

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About the Book

From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes her highly anticipated Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.

1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. Free spirited, she refuses to be confined by societal norms. Instead, Eliza revels in exploring the golden fields and sparkling ponds of Mayfield, observing wildlife, and riding horses.

But her halcyon days are cut short by the Great War, coastal storms, and unexpected challenges to Mayfield. As Eliza battles personal pains and the ravages of family turmoil over the years, her love and devotion for the natural world puts her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.

1988: At 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She’s fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family—or watch them both be split apart.

Set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century low country, Where the Rivers Merge is a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.

Critical Praise

"Mary Alice Monroe weaves a shimmering tapestry of nature and human nature, love and war, tradition and change. With the passing generations, the battle heats up, but Eliza is a matriarch determined to have her say. Readers will fall in love with her as she reveals Mayfield's past and leaves her indelible mark on its future. This is cook club fiction at its finest!" — Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shelterwood

"Where The Rivers Merge is simply captivating. Monroe is a master storyteller and her lyrical depictions of the Lowcountry and the natural world awakened all of my senses and left me breathless at every chapter's end. The characters leapt off the page and stayed with me long after the book was finished. Stunning in every way, a must-read." — Sadeqa Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve

“Where the Rivers Merge is an entrancing, multigenerational tale brimming with characters so vivid and endearing that, to the reader, they quickly feel like longtime friends. With each gripping reveal of Mayfield’s past, Monroe drew me deeper on a journey, at turns both heartwarming and heartbreaking, while building to its elegant conclusion. A touching, memorable read.” — Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Girls of Good Fortune

"Like so many of you, I start my summer season with the enchanting novels of Mary Alice Monroe. I'm a devoted fan of her magical depictions of the lowcountry and the charms of her characters." — Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Mary Alice Monroe writes gorgeously, with authority and tenderness, about the natural world and its power to inspire, transport, and to heal." — Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A lush and shimmering book about memory, family, the power of stories, and the ties that bind us to landscape. This book sings with significance. Mary Alice Monroe has penned a beautiful and lasting love letter to the south." — Signe Pike, author of The Lost Queen series

“Mary Alice Monroe takes us on an emotional journey with Eliza Rivers. Set in the grandeur of the ACE Basin in the Lowcountry at her home Mayfield Hall, young love, World War I, and the tradition of primogeniture test Eliza’s spirit and her family ties. Now in her late eighties, Eliza finally tells her story in order to pass on her devotion to Mayfield Hall and the wildlife it holds to a new generation. This is Monroe at her best.” — Sally R. Murphy, former wildlife biologist and author of Turning the Tide

“Mary Alice Monroe is helping to redefine the beauty and magic of the Carolina Lowcountry. Every book she has written has felt like a homecoming to me.” — New York Times bestselling author Pat Conroy

"Magical! Mary Alice Monroe's writing is always sensitive and true, and as inspiring as the natural wonder about which she writes." — New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank

"It's hard to describe the beauty of Monroe's work. The words on the pages flow from the author's eyes to create a world of rare enchantment. Next, Monroe's brain assembles a plot that moves the characters from one amazing event to another. Then from Monroe's heart comes the passion for the story, one that is rich with love and depth." — Huffington Post

"Readers come for the characters but stay for the animals." — New York Times

"Saving our wildlife... one book at a time." — Southern Living