Where the Lilies Bloom

Where the Lilies Bloom (1969) is a middle-grade historical fiction novel written by married authors Vera Cleaver and Bill Cleaver. The couple collaborated on stories and novels for middle-grade and young adult readers throughout their life, believing that writing for adolescent age groups was a meaningful endeavor. They often wrote about realistic settings and themes, exploring the intricacies of human nature.

Where the Lilies Bloom is their most famous work. It is a coming-of-age novel set in North Carolina that highlights the struggles and resilience of the Luther family as they fight to stay together, understand one another, and live off the land they cherish. The novel features depictions of poverty and its challenges, as well as themes of family loss and orphanhood.

This study guide refers to the 1969 published novel, located on Internet Archive.

Plot Summary

Set in a rural valley nestled within the Appalachian mountains, Where the Lilies Bloom is told from the first-person point of view. Mary Call Luther, the 14-year-old narrator and protagonist of the novel, has to take care of her family as her father, Roy Luther, becomes increasingly ill. She looks after her sisters, Devola and Ima Dean, and her brother, Romey. The Luthers are a poor sharecropping family, working and living on land owned by Kiser Pease, an old bachelor who wants to marry the 18-year-old Devola. When Kiser falls violently sick, Mary Call is able to gain ownership of their house and a parcel of land, demonstrating her belief in not submitting to lowly circumstances but instead fighting to improve one’s position with intelligence, moral strength, and dignity.

Before he passes away, Roy Luther makes Mary Call promise to keep her family together, maintain her pride in the Luther name and not allow Devola to marry Kiser. In order to keep the family from being separated by the county, Roy Luther insists that, when the time comes, she keep his death a secret. After he dies, Mary Call struggles with hiding his death as well as ensuring that the family has enough provisions for winter. Using her deceased mother’s book on Wildcrafting (foraging), Mary Call leads the family in gathering highly coveted herbs to sell at the General Store in town. Her efforts are encouraged by Mr. Connell, the store owner, but she must also deal with his nosy, judgmental wife, Mrs. Connell. Mary Call studies the medicinal herb book assiduously and hungers after knowledge she sees displayed by her teacher, Mrs. Breathitt. Mary Call values education and knowledge, viewing them as antidotes to ignorance and moral weakness, qualities that many attribute to poor, mountain people. She refuses to feed into stereotypes and continually resists her own doubts that she is incapable of keeping her family together. She finds some support in discussions with 10-year-old Romey and with God, whom she speaks to in her head.

Luck seems to be on the Luther family’s side in the beginning as Kiser works to court Devola, providing the family with a car, a radio, and animals. He is then hit by a truck and gets seriously injured, granting the family respite from his insistence on seeing Roy Luther and asking for Devola’s hand in marriage. Mary Call and Romey are able to attend school, while Devola cooks and maintains the home and looks after their younger sibling Ima Dean. However, as pressure builds due to the impending winter—the roof breaks, there is too little food, the siblings are overworked—Mary Call displays less and less patience for her family and any sign of weakness. Romey especially resents her coldness, but Mary Call finds herself with no guidance or help, not even from God.

When Kiser’s sister, Goldie Pease, arrives in the valley, stating that she actually owns the land and the family must vacate the premises in two weeks, Mary Call’s panic heightens, and she determines that she must marry Kiser or move the family into a cave. Winter conditions worsen, mirroring Mary Call’s own troubles. Desperate, she goes to the hospital and asks for Kiser’s hand in marriage. In response to his refusal, she cries but settles on the plan of cave-dwelling.

Visiting her father’s grave, she feels no connection to him and has little memory of how he was when he was alive. At home, she finds that Kiser has come from the hospital. Stress stemming from the irresolvable and unsustainable nature of the situation becomes too great, making Mary Call sick. Kiser reveals that he has paid his debts to his sister, and he and Devola are going to get married. He knows that Roy Luther has passed away, and he has become a guardian to the Luther siblings. Mary Call accepts that she has strayed in her judgment, as did her father; she realizes that Roy Luther’s promises were based on old circumstances, and she chooses the happiness of her living family over her word to her deceased father.

Kiser and Devola marry, and Mary Call takes care of the Luther house. The siblings continue to wildcraft, and to their relief, winter finally ends. Spring ushers in great new life and energy, the flowers blooming and animals delighting in the weather. In the end, Mary Call feels connected to the land, to her family, and to her abilities. The future appears kind, predictable, and satisfying.