Book Review: Miss Hildreth Wore Brown

Author: Olivia deBelle Byrd
Title: Miss Hildreth Wore Brown
Publisher:  Morgan James Publishing
Publish Date: May 1, 2010
Rating: 5 Stars
Book Blurb: While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said,“Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any. On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun. To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing. With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Oliviade Belle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms. The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt LottieMae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama. Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church,where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral. Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment.

Review: Miss Hildreth is one of those books that quickly becomes a favorite.  Olivia's storytelling will have you thinking you are sitting around a table sipping iced tea.  The cast of characters could very well be old friends and family. You certainly get introduced to her husband and children through many of the stories, as well as aunts friends.

You laugh out loud more often then not and nod your head, because you know people like this (even if you are a northerner, like me) or you've gone through the same thing.

It is also a very quick read, clocking in around 160 pages. It is easy to devour in one sitting, but there will be parts that you will go back to so you can share them with your friends. This is definitely not a book that you only read once. You'll want to read it over and over again, especially when you need a pick me up.

This book isn't a memoir so much as a collection of funny real life stories. If you like to laugh, and love all things Southern, this is the book for you. It truly is a gem.

~ my copy of Miss Hildreth Wore Brown was provided by the author and Bostick Communications and did in no way affect my review.