Heaven Casteel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heaven Leigh Casteel is the protagonist of the novels in the Casteel series created by Virginia C. Andrews, and concluded by Andrew Neiderman upon her death.

[edit] The following takes place in the first novel in the casteel series, Heaven.

The first novel of the same name, Heaven, commences with Heaven and her family's pitiful struggle against poverty in the hills of the West Virginia mountains. Heaven, her father Luke Casteel, her stepmother Sarah, her four half brothers and sisters, Tom, Fanny, Keith, and Our Jane, and her Gandfather and grandmother live in a one bedroom shack in the Willies, the mountains above the town Winnerow.

Scorned by the people of the valley as being "hill-billies" and "hill scum", Heaven's pride remains intact despite her ruthless father who ignores and scorns her existence. Heaven soon learns from her granny that the reason for her fathers animosity is a result of her birth causing the death of her real mother and Luke's first wife Leigh VanVoreen, who Luke called Angel.

Upon learning the truth, Heaven is presented with her mother's valuable heirloom suitcase containing her mothers clothes, and what soon becomes Heaven's most prised possession, a portrait doll that was modeled after her mother. The doll's face is a mirror of Heaven's, except that the doll has silvery blonde hair as opposed to Heavens dark hair.

Heaven flourishes into a gifted student, and her brother Tom and herself treasure books and excel in English. Her sister Fanny however, is promiscuous, and spiteful towards Heaven. Yet, it is when Heaven meets and captures the heart of Logan Stonewall that Fanny's hate towards her sister growns into a scorn that will echo throughout their lives.

Logan and Heaven share a childish romance and pledge their hearts and their lives to each other. Logan is however, the son of the local phamisist, and his wealthy mother scorns her sons romance.

Yet, upon the death of Sarah and Luke's fifth child, Heaven's grandmother passes away causing her grandfather to become senile while Sarah falls into a deep depression and soon flees, leaving the children to fend for themselves while their father likewise abandons them. Luke however, soon returns, with the news that he is ill and that he plans to sell his children for $500 a piece on Christmas day. Heaven is devastated, and watches heart broken as her younger siblings are split up and sold off.

She herself is sold to Kitty and Cal Dennison, who live in Candlewick, a sub division in Atlanta. Separated from her siblings and her beloved Logan, Heaven soon realises however, that she has been bought as a slave to Kitty, who detested Heaven's mother Angel for marrying Luke, as she was inlove with him, and upon aborting his baby, was unable to have any more children. Kitty abuses Heaven physically and emotionally, even scolding her in a burning hot bath and burning the beloved portrait doll of her mother. Yet Heaven finds comfort in the arms of her husband, Cal.

Cal lavishes attention on Heaven, buying her Heaven's clothes, and treating her to all she has been denied in her underprevledged mountain life, such as films and fine restaurants. Yet Cal eventually takes advantage of Heaven, and when Kitty becomes seriously ill, he seduces her.

Heaven is shamed and devastated, yet is unable to resist his advances, and when Cal announces that they shall return to Winnerow so a dying Kitty can see her parents, she confesses the truth to Logan, and he runs from her leaving her alone in the world. She is temporarily reunited with her brother Tom, her spiteful sister Fanny, and her Grandpa, yet, still bitter and hateful, she avoids her father and upon Kitty's death, Cal abandons her and she boards a plane for Boston to fins her wealthy mothers parents.

[edit] The following takes place in the second novel in the Casteel Series, Dark Angel

Upon arriving in Boston, Heaven meets Jillian Tatterton, her wealthy grandmother, and her second husband who is 20 years her junior, Tony Tatterton. Tony was Leigh's stepfather, and Heaven is grieved to learn that her real father died several years earlier. The couple take Heaven to Tony's ancestral home, Fathingale Manor, the enormous estate that her mother ran from. Heaven is shocked and deeply hurt to learn however, that her grandparents only expect her for a short visit. Heaven feeds them lies about her mother, including that she didn't give birth to Heaven straight away, but that her parents were married for a year before her birth.

Heaven is well accommodated, and resides in the suites that were her mother's. Heaven begins to delve into her mother's past, and comes face to face with a piece of her past when she meets Troy Tatterton, Tony's yonger brother who lives in the cottage behind the English maze when Heaven becomes lost in the maze. Heaven is immediately attracted to the handsome and talented Troy, yet is at first reluctant to let Heaven into his life, yet she pressures him into letting down his wall of hostility despite Tony ordering her to stay away from him.

Heaven learns that he was three and his mother was twelve when they first met, and Leigh was like an older sister to him. Troy and Heaven eventually become lovers, and Heaven forgets Logan as she discovers her passion and love for Troy are stronger than what she had felt for Logan. Troy soon reveals to her however, that he has premonitions, and dreams that reveal to him that he will not live much longer, and he has no reason to doubt them since all his past dreams have come true, including his dream of Leigh's death.

Deeply disturbed but unwilling to lose him, Heaven persuades him to marry her. The two are happy for a brief time, until Troy's detective agency locates Keith and Our Jane. Heaven rushes to 'save them' when Troy becomes ill and wishes her to go on and find them, only to discover once she is there that they no longer need her and that they love their adoptive parents when they deny knowing her.

Devastated, she goes to Fanny, who spitefully convinces her to go to Winnerow to get back her baby Darcy that she sold to the Reverand Wayland Wise who adopted her and raped her. Heaven reluctantly agrees, but discovers it is a mistake and impossible once she is there. Once in Winnerow, Heaven runs into Cal, who again bombards her with his needs and wants, and tries to force himself on her. Heaven however, disillusions him and pushes him put of her life forever.

Decided on going to find her grandfather in their old cabin, Heaven gets caught in a storm between Winnerow and the Willies, only to be discovered by Logan who finds Heaven's car broken down on the highway, and takes her to the cabin. Heaven however, returns only to discover the money she has been sending her grandfather had been put towards retoring the cabin and it is now an adequate home.

As the storm becomes more violent, Heaven comes down with the same illness as Troy. Stuck with no one but Logan to look after her, Heaven submits to his efforts to help her. She dreams of Troy, and in her desperation to get back to him she shouts at Logan to let her contact him. Logan grows jealous and angry, confessing he still loves her and wants her back.

When the storm clears and Heaven recovers, she returns to Troy, only to be encounted by Tony who confesses he was pleased by her upcoming marriage to Troy, but that now he cannot let it go ahead. A devastated Heaven forces the truth from him, and he reveals that the reason he mother fled from Farthingale Manor was that he fell in love with her and raped her, and that he discovered from Troy that Heaven was really a year older that she first pretended, and thereby, he is her father.

Heartbroken that Troy is her uncle and she cannot marry him, Heaven goes to confess the truth to him, but upon seeing him, she cannot do it. Yet Jillian had revealed the truth to him, having known it all along, and in order to protect Heaven, Troy leaves his home leaving her a letter insisting that she go to Jillian and hear the whole truth.

Heaven goes to Jillian's suite, and in revealing and finally accepting the truth, Jillian falls into insanity. Heaven leaves Farthingale Manor to escape the memories of all she has lost, yet upon her return she learns that Troy's prophecy has indeed come true. He killed himself as he was unable to live without her.

Devastated, Heaven once again flees to Winnerow, this time to confront her father who has again married and has another son, Drake. Her beloved brother Tom is living with him, and both work at the circus. Heaven is appalled at Tom's willingness to give up his dreams in order to help their father attain his, and as revenge for all he has done she dyes her hair blonde, the same shade as her mothers, puts on one of her mothers old dresses, and approaches her father when he is lion taming at the circus.

Luke believes his Angel has come back to him, and when he drops his gun, the lion mauls and kills Tom. Blaming herself, she returns to the cabin to become a teacher at the Winnerow school, to pass on her love of books to those in the same position she was. She acknowledges that she will eventually become Logan's wife, as the waters have stilled between them.