Author event with Mary Alice Monroe set May 24

Mary Alice Monroe will sign copies of her new novel, "Where The Rivers Merge," from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 24, at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach.

“Where the Rivers Merge” is the first of two epic novels celebrating one intrepid woman's life across multiple generations in the American South.

In 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 put her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.

In 1988, at the age of 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 to assure the future of the land and her family, or watch them both be split apart.