And the winner of this excellent book is Hilda Reilly. Congratulations! To enter the Giveaway of a signed copy of All Different Kinds of Free simply leave a comment below by September 1. Interesting comments will get entered twice (Just saying, you could have a conversation here–this book is worth talking about…)
Few books make me want to reach into history and grab events by the neck and throttle them. Few books make me cry so much my dog gets frantic to comfort me as I read. All Different Kinds of Free did both. Jessica McCann builds an emotionally engaging, heartbreaking story out of a fundamentally unfair situation in American history. A free Black woman, Margaret Morgan, and her three children are kidnapped in 1837 from their home in Pennsylvania and sold into slavery. The bits of information about this tragedy are preserved in the record not out of a sense of outrage about the fate of this woman, but because her kidnapping violated a Pennsylvania law and raised issues of states’ rights. Eventually the Supreme Court decided that the Constitution protects the property rights of slave owners and no state can pass laws impeding those rights, thus fanning the growing split between North and South that led to the Civil War.
In all this wrestling over “rights,” none of the trials addressed the issue of releasing these previously free citizens and history forgot about Margaret and her three children. Jessica McCann has rectified this injustice. She will break your heart in the process—she’s that good at bringing Margaret’s story to life. However, part of this novel’s sophisticated success arises from McCann’s refusal to portray even such a clear injustice in simplistic terms. Selfishness and cruelty intermix with redemption and forgiveness. The woman who is primarily responsible for Margaret’s kidnapping, for example, grows in our understanding so that she is partially redeemed in the reader’s mind. How can that be, you wonder? Through skillful, deep characterization and subtly built moral gradations in human beings within all walks of life.
Another way that McCann modulates and softens her story telling is through her lyrical descriptions. The descriptions are integrated to reflect mood and emotional content so they never feel like bits you want to skip over. For example, when the young lawyer who will defend Pennsylvania’s case before the Supreme Court rides into DC, he looks about with interest on his first visit to the nation’s capital. Evening is falling and most people have headed home for the night. “This exodus had brought a hush to the scene, a bit enchanting and a bit eerie at once. Elegant maple saplings lined the road, casting skeleton-like shadows upon the ground as the sun dimmed and the lanterns glimmered.” The rawness of our nation is emphasized by the saplings—our unfinished state is both literal and figurative in the newly built capital that has yet to face its defining challenge in the Civil War. Will we stay true to our founding principles of liberty or not? These skeletal shadows throw a deathly aura on the scene. The natural sunlight is dimming and the artificial light of cynical manipulation is growing brighter. This atmospheric setting is furthered in a contrast: the coach stops to allow a free-roaming goat to go unharmed across the road right next to a high-walled, wooden pen of slaves held for auction. You can feel the foreboding of the young lawyer and his mentor as they ride through this scene. That’s excellent writing: communicating your characters’ inner states through the physical details of their world. The reader is spell bound.
The grim realities of slavery and the difficulty of reading about them are intermingled with moments of joy and tenderness. McCann knows how to pace this story. You will sob—bring your tissues—but you’ll also feel better at the end of the book than before you began it. You’ll still want to reach into history and throttle a few folks, but then, as a nation, we shed blood to redeem the Margarets from their bondage and we continue to fight to achieve racial equality as a nation. I think this book’s overall emotional impact will remind you why the fight is worth your focus and energy. Why hope is worth holding onto, even when none seems anywhere around. I highly recommend this book.
Interesting. Granted, my knowledge of the Civil War revolves around the battles and the political fires in the 1850’s. One must be opened minded to analyze all aspects of a conflict to develop a better understanding. Look forward to winning this excellent work
Just finished “12 Years as a Slave” and enjoyed it very much. Look forward to your book
I’m fascinated by the whole slavery issue and the exploring of the kind of mindset which can allow this kind of thing to happen. Historical fiction is at its best when it shines light on the psychology of other ages, though it’s not always an easy thing to do. The last novel involving slavery which I read was Philippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade which failed lamentably in this respect – an enjoyable enough read but not one to be taken seriously. All Different Kinds of Free promises to be much superior.
I heard about this case before–tragic and scandalous episode in our history. The book sounds nuanced and complicated. Right up my alley. Thanks for the review!
I enjoy reading fiction about relations between African-Americans and Whites from various time periods in U.S. history. As a Canadian I find this history fascinating in its distinctions from and similarities to my own country’s history. Your review of this book tells me this would be an excellent addition to my reading.
I’d love to read this book so i’d really like to win. I remember as a little girl growing up watching Roots and being so moved by it and also The Colour Purple. This books sounds like a must read!
I (think) that I would love to read this book. Sounds like it would be very emotional.
Your review is very enticing. I just added this one to my ever growing TBR list.
I have read many many novels based on slavery. I just finished the Book of Night Women for the second time recently, and I am still reliving that one in my mind.
I have never read one that deals with this particular subject though. Do you think it would be appropriate to read aloud with a 12 year old? I saw it listed as YA, but YA can vary greatly as you know.
One of the reasons to read and to write historical fiction is to bring the light of the past to illuminate the present. Human suffering and legal wrangling are still with us, and all too often the human pain is lost or forgotten as legal issues drag on and on and on.
I thoroughly enjoyed Jessica McCann’s debut novel, All Different kinds of Free, and highly recommend it to all readers who especially enjoy the historical battle of civil rights in the U.S. Jessica relates the humanity of the injustice with sensitivity and gifted insight into the human experience. A great story and an engaging character study as well. Trish
The timing of this giveaway is timely. A week ago I signed up for a two-week trial Ancestry.com membership . I have been researching my father’s genealogy – with a bit of trepidation as his family was deeply imbedded in the south.
I am just learning how to use their tools, but have traced one ancestor back to 1795. Everytime I pull up another family member I am hesitant to read who was part of the household.
Thankfully, I have only discovered one “servant” listed in the household of an ancestor who was a Confederate soldier. However, this info was discovered in the 1880 Census, well after the Civil War & the Emancipation Declaration. Hmmm, makes me wonder what being labeled “servant” actually meant.
Some of my favorite books are Mudbound, The Kitchen House, & The Help. I very much would like to read you book. I will add it to my Goodreads To Read List.
Mans’ inhumanity to man is always a shock!
Great comments. This topic hits a tender spot in our national consciousness and that’s clear within these reactions.
Londa–Is this YA? I wouldn’t give it to a young adult before high school unless I’d read it first and decided I was comfortable with it. Slavery for women necessarily involves not-good sexual situations among other issues that you may not feel are fine for your young adult. I know from teaching high school that there is a huge range in what people think is ok for different ages and this book has scenes that would have troubled some parents, not others. I don’t know why it is classified as YA because it feels entirely like an adult novel except that I think the publisher felt it was a vivid way to teach this historical period, which is absolutely true. I think they wanted to encourage getting it into teen hands which I agree with but not everyone will.
Looking forward to reading this one, especially after hearing the author speak about it. Nice review, Judith.
Thanks again for a very engaging review.
This sounds like a really interesting read and I would love to get a chance to enjoy it. Thanks for the offer.
I am a civil war buff-and this sounds like a fascinating book. I’m looking forward to receiving it.
I really enjoyed Someone Knows My Name and would love to read another book about women and slavery.
You had me at “historical fiction”… :p
Thanks, Judith, for this wonderful review of my novel. I’m so glad you loved it and I appreciate this thoughtful, detailed review.
And many thanks to everyone for posting such interesting comments.
Another pre-Civil War book about slavery that shows a little-known side of things is WENCH by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. I read it a year or two ago and highly recommend it. Based on real events, it focuses on a lovely resort in the free state of Ohio where Southern white “gentlemen” would visit in the summers with their enslaved black mistresses.
Thanks Judith. I saw it shelved as YA on goodreads. Not sure if the publisher has it categorized that way. I was wondering if it was toned like “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing” which is definitely YA, but from your description it is not. Thanks again.
Judith – such a wonderful review. I had the honor of reading Jessica’s book in its early drafts and it’s definitely one that will stick with me for a lifetime. I know that the winner of the book will be just as moved!
I’ve had this one on my TBR list for a while. Thanks for offering the giveaway!
And the winner of this excellent book is Hilda. Congratulations!
I read All Different Kinds of Free about a year and a half ago, while I was traveling to Peru to visit family, and it’s one of those stories I still think about. I think it’s such an amazing example of the power of fiction: history didn’t tell Margaret’s story. It only left a few clues behind and let the facts get lost in the prejudice of the time and the many, many years that passed without any sort of redemption. That Jessica picked up the pieces and decided to tell Margaret’s story and give her a voice, shows that you don’t always need all the facts to get to the truth of a story.
I agree, Natalia. When I hear historians announcing the evils of historical fiction (only a few historians, I should point out), I quickly think of books like All Different Kinds of Free. There are more ways than one to get at the truth of history and sometimes you need the imagination to get deep enough and to build a picture that can be truly “accurate” in that it does not leave gaping holes and glaring omissions in the tale.
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