Book Review and GIVEAWAY: The Stockwell Letters, by Jacqueline Friedland {ends 8/22}

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

ANTHONY

Boston, June 1854

The guards gave Anthony a new suit that morning. After so many days wearing the same rank outfits all the time, he was glad for something clean to put on. And the clothes they gave him were fine. The only time he saw Black folk dressed so costly was when they were being sold at auction for house slaving. He took his time putting on the trousers and the sharp coat, and he found himself still hoping. If they gave him all those fine fabrics and even a top hat to wear, that maybe signified more good was to come.

But it turned out those clothes were meant just to show folks outside that he’d been treated well, that maybe the slave life wasn’t so bad after all.

When the commissioner announced his decision, Anthony could scarcely believe it, even though he heard it clear with his very own ears.

Life as a former slave in a divided country presented many challenges and conflicts for all of the country’s citizens.

Official synopsis:

A passionate advocate of abolition from her earliest years, Ann’s activism was derailed just before her twenty-fourth birthday, when she fell sick with a mysterious illness. In order to protect her fragile health, her husband, the famous abolitionist Wendell Phillips, forbade her from joining any further anti-slavery outings. Even so, when fugitive slave Anthony Burns is apprehended in Boston, Ann is determined to help him, no matter what it costs her.  

With a particular focus on the predicament of nineteenth-century women who wanted to effect change despite the restrictions society imposed on them, The Stockwell Letters takes a deep dive into the harrowing conditions of the antebellum South and the obstacles faced by abolitionists who fought tirelessly to eradicate slavery. A fast-paced, arresting recounting of America’s not-so-distant history, the story will stay with readers long after the final page.

 

Told from the viewpoints of Anthony Burns, Colette, and Ann Phillips, this story gave fascinating perspective on abolitionist activists in Boston in the 1830s through the 1850s (with one last follow-up in the mid-1880s). The title of the book wasn’t obvious, and didn’t really occur to this reader until the book was done, but when it made sense it was excellent.

Anthony Burns starts out the story as a slave who is being rented out by his owner to a business-owner in another town. His escape is what starts most of the action in the story. Colette lives in the city where Anthony is working. She likes to think that she has a progressive view of human rights, and is sneaking around to teach her maid, Adelia, to read. When they first meet Anthony, she wants to add him to their classes since he has expressed an interest in reading as well. Ann Phillips was raised in an abolitionist family and married famous abolitionist Wendell Phillips. 

The story of the three main characters and the commitment to and evolution of their ideals is fascinating. While the story is based on their common beliefs, why they believed what they did, or how they interpreted their actions based on these beliefs, varies. Overall, the book was enlightening and earned 4 out of 5 stars. It was wonderfully told historical fiction, with some of the characters actually based in fact. There was more than average history available about what happened with Anthony Burns, and the author researched it well.

{click here to purchase on Amazon}

Becki Bayley enjoys writing, reading, and snuggling with her two cats. Catch a glimpse of what she’s up to on Instagram where she posts as PoshBecki.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of The Stockwell Letters!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, August 22nd at 11:59pm ET, and winner will be chosen and emailed the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

The Stockwell Letters, by Jacqueline Friedland