The Logan stories closely follow the history of Taylor's own family, from her great-grandfather's purchase of land in Mississippi in the 1880s to their move to Ohio in the 1940s. The fourth book, Song of the Trees, is told from the point of view of a third-generation Logan, Cassie, who narrates the rest of the Logan stories: The Friendship Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Road to Memphis. A white boy, Jeremy Simms, reports a tragedy that he and the Logan children witness in 1931. The third book of the saga, Mississippi Bridge, is the only book in the Logan stories not narrated by a member of the Logan family. The next part of the saga, The Well, is told by David Logan, one of Paul-Edward's sons. The saga begins with Paul-Edward Logan in The Land leaving his family in Georgia in the 1870s and eventually settling in Mississippi, where he buys The Land that will become the homestead for all the future Logans. The Logan family saga, then, is essentially family history for Taylor. Similarly, in her other novels, nearly all the events are based on stories Taylor has heard from her father and other family members nearly all the characters are based on family members or acquaintances she has known or learned about. All the children sat at their father's table for meals, and my great-grandfather often went with his father and his brothers on their trips around the community.' ( The Land, 269) He taught his children to read and write, and he ordered his white sons to share their school learning with them. Their father had three sons by a white wife, and he acknowledged all of his children. Born the children of an African-Indian woman and a white plantation owner during slavery, my great-grandfather and his sister were brought up by both their parents. From as far back as I can remember, I had heard stories about my great-grandfather, who bought the family land in Mississippi.

'In writing The Land, I have followed closely the stories told by my father and others about my great-grandparents. In her Author's Note in The Land, she explains that her great-grandfather was the basis for the character Paul-Edward: Taylor's novels to date are based on stories from her own family, stories she learned at family gatherings throughout her life.

The land book mildred taylor