Narrators: Mary Alice Monroe; Jenna Lamia; Cassandra Campbell
HarperAudio
ISBN: 978-0063249424
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 05/13/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: Currently LIstening (ALC)
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.
Praise
"A thoughtful work that her fans and those who prize stories about preserving nature and heritage will enjoy."
— Library Journal (starred review)
"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 book club fiction at its finest!"
— Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shelterwood
"From the lyrical pen of Mary Alice Monroe comes a poignant tale of one woman’s unbreakable bond with the natural world. Where the Rivers Merge is a breathtaking, multigenerational saga of Eliza Rivers, a woman fiercely determined to protect her family’s legacy and the land she loves. Set against the lush backdrop of South Carolina’s Lowcountry and its rivers, Eliza must navigate the ravages of time, longing, and loss to safeguard her cherished home. With Monroe’s signature grace and her profound understanding of nature’s power, this is a journey through resilience, love, and complicated family ties. Where the Rivers Merge is Mary Alice Monroe at her best, reminding us that there is a magical connection between human nature and Mother nature and that it’s in this bond where we find our greatest hope for the future.”
— Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea
"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
“With elegant prose and an embracing heart, Mary Alice Monroe has written an epic tale of the place where the soul of nature and the soul of a unique woman converge. Across her eighty-eight years, Eliza Rivers has dedicated her life not only to the preservation of Mayfield, her beloved family estate, but also to the protection of the threatened ACE basin, a haven for endangered South Carolina flora and fauna. Monroe’s deep love of this extraordinary land burns brightly in every line. Where the Rivers Merge is the first of two novels chronicling the life of Eliza Rivers. Along with every other fan of Mary Alice Monroe’s extraordinary body of work, I’m eagerly awaiting the next.”
— William Kent Kruger, New York Times bestselling author of The River We Remember
"Mary Alice Monroe has spent a long career writing about the environment, and that love of nature rises to the surface here in Where the Rivers Merge like never before. Beginning in 1988, her novel—centered around the life of her fictional heroine, Eliza Pinckney Rivers--catapults us back to the dawn of the 20th century, when Monroe's beloved South Carolina is just emerging from the long shadow of the Civil War. We meet Eliza first when she's eighty-eight—and then again when she's just eight years old, the vibrant, headstrong daughter of a family that owns Mayfield, a huge piece of property in the ACE Basin, a magical piece of land where three rivers converge. Monroe's sweeping family saga is so layered that it will take two books to take us through the 20th century (the sequel will be out next year). In this first of two installments, we see Eliza wrestle with an against-the-odds friendship, a searing loss, and a first love. A passionate love letter to the complex and nuanced history of the American South, and to the flora and fauna that abound in the author's beloved South Carolina, WHERE THE RIVERS MERGE is also a reminder to us all to conserve the land we hold dear."
— Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
“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
About the Author
Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 books, including her latest instant bestseller, The Summer of Lost and Found.
Nearly 8 million copies of her books have been published worldwide, and she’s earned numerous accolades and awards, including induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors’ Hall of Fame. WEBSITE
