Wench

Wench: A Novel
By Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Amistad, 2010. 293 pgs. Historical Fiction

Lizzie is her master’s mistress; Drayle loves her and she has given him two children—the only two children he has. Lizzie has spent the last few summers at Tawawa House in Ohio, where southern gentleman escape for the summer with their black slave mistresses. Lizzie has made friends at Tawawa, Sweet and Reenie, who are both in similar situations. However this summer and the next one are different for Lizzie and her friends. A new slave mistress is there, Mawu, who has different ideas which shape the two summers.

Lizzie has a great love for her children, her friends, and for her master. It’s intriguing to see how this love grows and changes from the time Lizzie becomes Drayle’s mistress to the new feelings and situations she experiences during these summers. This novel is a different look at a hard time in American history, but it is engrossing.

MN