Almost every generation of the Howland family of Alabama had a male named "William." In the mid twentieth century, the current William Howland secretly married his black housekeeper Margaret, at a time when interracial marriage was illegal. When their children grew up, Margaret sent them away to avoid the racism of the Deep South.

The incident came to the fore years after William and Margaret died. William's granddaughter, Abigail, married an ambitious politician whose speeches often aligned with the Ku Klux Klan. One of Margaret's children leaked the news of mixed blood in Abigail's family, destroying her husband's chances at the governorship and setting the townspeople against Margaret's family.

Shirley Ann Grau's 1964 novel "The Keepers of the House" shines a light on the explicit racism prevalent in the Deep South.

Grau tells a story about human struggles, race relations, honor, and revenge. She examines the roles of women and blacks in a society that hinders them with mores and laws. William accepts his relationship with Margaret, but knows that those around him will not, so he keeps their marriage a secret. Ultimately, Abigail pays the price two generations later. It matters not that the Howland family is among the most prominent in the state. Their secret is enough to enrage the community and incite them to judgment and violence.

Although Grau's characters lack depth, she unfolds her story well. It builds slowly, revealing the history of the Howland family and Abigail's young adulthood, but it accelerates at the end as the family secret is revealed.

The novel caused controversy in 1964. Many in the South did not like to be reminded of the existence of institutional racism. But it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction the following year.