The Sweetness of Life: Southern Planters at Home by Eugene D. Genovese (review)

The Sweetness of Life: Southern Planters at Homecontinues Eugene D. Genovese's efforts to more fully understand the complexities of southern planters, a task he finds essential to understanding the slave South and the system of slavery. As Genovese states in the introduction, he has "come neither to praise nor bury the slaveholders, but to limn some of the features of their lives, which may help us understand them better" (p. 2). Genovese's use of material accumulated through decades of research allows him to create a layered view of the slaveholding class. A skilled writer, Genovese weaves entertaining and insightful tales throughout the book, capturing the activities and preferences of individuals as well as the broader sentiments of the planter class. Through discussion of leisure activities such as dining practices, horse riding, fishing and hunting, piano playing, and gambling, Genovese presents a wide-ranging portrait of seldom discussed aspects of the American South.

Genovese passed away prior to completion of the book. As a result, Douglas Ambrose provides an in-depth prologue outlining the context of The Sweetness of Lifealong with the broader experiences of Genovese's career. Ambrose contends that each chapter stands on its own, thus creating a book that lacks the "tight, overarching argument" one has come to expect in Genovese's work (p. x). However, certain recurring themes can be found. Genovese effectively demonstrates the ways that southern leisure activities reified class distinctions and order in the region. For instance, through a discussion of horses and carriages, it becomes clear that southern elites held particular preferences regarding style and quality. Carriage ownership reinforced the planters' status within the community, while the ability to provide transportation during weddings and other social events to those unable to purchase their own reinforced the sentiment that these men were worthy of their elevated status in the community. Similarly, when Genovese discusses a variety of subjects ranging from gun ownership to hunting and horse riding, or illicit activities such as gambling and drinking or rampant sexual activities, ideas of manliness and masculinity flow throughout the book, in terms of both how planters viewed or defined themselves and how they were regarded by others.

Ideally, The Sweetness of Lifewould not only illuminate our understanding of the planter class but also demonstrate how planters' choices and activities were interwoven with the enslaved population of the South. According to Ambrose, "What emerges most clearly from The Sweetness of Lifeis not the profundity of an argument about the master-slave relation, but, instead, the presumption of slave presence in nearly all aspects of the slaveholders' lives" (p. xix). However, emphasizing the presence of enslaved men and women fails to adequately address not only how they functioned as actors in the formation of southern leisure but also how their actions shaped the thoughts and activities of the planter class. Kernels of this sort can be seen when Genovese briefly mentions the dangers associated with enslaved people's access to horses, drugs, and guns. The systemic realities of slavery challenged the application of leisurely activities. Importantly, sharp divisions existed in the understanding and expression of leisure among planters and enslaved people. Expanding on points only briefly broached in this book (such as the conflicted holiday season for enslaved people who found themselves both engaged in celebration and fearful of potential separations based on sale or being hired out in the new year) would allow for better understanding of the true nature of slavery in the South.

The Sweetness of Lifeis an important book that should provide several avenues for further discussion and debate for years to come.