The Hemingses Of Monticello (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is really an astounding achievement. At first I was nervous about how she was going to get 600 pages of material from so few written records without having to go deep into speculation, but she does it by knowing an incredible amount about slavery and its time and using her knowledge to give as much information about the context the family was living in and how that might have impacted them as possible. Unlike many portrayals of slavery, this book has few of the more shocking or gory moments of slaves being beaten or branded, but it's portrayal of the constant denial of humanity that is slavery, even under the most "benevolent" of masters, just emphasizes why slavery was such an evil. One of the many fascinating aspects of the book are her asides about the nuances of racism at different stages of slavery and after it was abolished. The way that white Americans defined blackness and black people changed as whites feared losing control over slaves and then no longer had that institution to use as a tool of subjugation is a nuanced story that we don't often remember. This was a pretty interesting, obviously well researched history. A lot of insights into Jefferson's character and the true nature of his relationship not only with Sally Hemings, but also with her brothers and the whole crew at what appears to have amounted to a kind of high class hill-billy trailer park at Monticello. The book is vastly over-written with far too much analysis added to the interesting factual material. A good Daily Herald editor would have easily cut it down by a third and not lost anything substantial. But on the whole it was well worth reading.
What do You think about The Hemingses Of Monticello (2008)?
This is a fascinating and meticulously-researched book.
—Portia
Too wordy and technical- I couldn't finish it :(
—ashnicole
Nope. This is just a list of names, really.
—Sammy
