Reviewed by Bev Scott Erica Armstrong Dunbar utilizes the details of history to create an engaging story of the life of a runaway slave owned by Martha Washington. Betty, Ona Judge’s mother, came to Mt. Vernon as a slave, when Martha accepted the hand of George Washington to marry him as her second husband in 1759. Betty […]
slavery
Book Review: “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi
Reviewed by Bev Scott Homegoing is an amazing book! It is an incredible example of how much we can learn from well-written fiction about culture, family dynamics, human emotions, history and so much more. Author YaaGyasi tells stories drawn from the lives of two ancestral family lines beginning in Ghana in the eighteenth century. The path of […]
Book Review: “The Secrets of Mary Bowser: A Novel” by Lois Leveen
Reviewed by Bev Scott Mary Bowser was born into slavery in Richmond, Virginia before the Civil War. She fortunately grew up knowing both of her parents. Her mother worked as a house slave in the Van Lews mansion. Her father lived nearby, working as a blacksmith. Also fortunate, Bet, the daughter of the Van Lews, saw […]
Book Review: “The Underground River” by Martha Conway
Reviewed by Bev Scott In The Underground River, Mae Bedloe is the seamstress and all-around support for her more famous cousin Comfort Vertue. In 1838 they are searching for new opportunities in the theatre for Comfort. They have booked passage on the steamboat Moselle headed to St. Louis. But after six days on board the […]
