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Loading... Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted (1892)by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
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A landmark account of the African American experience during the Civil War and its aftermath First published in 1892, this stirring novel by the great writer and activist Frances Harper tells the story of the young daughter of a wealthy Mississippi planter who travels to the North to attend school, only to be sold into slavery in the South when it is discovered that she has Negro blood. After she is freed by the Union army, she works to reunify her family and embrace her heritage, committing herself to improving the conditions for blacks in America. Through her fascinating characters-including Iola's brother, who fights at the front in a colored regiment-Harper weaves a vibrant and provocative chronicle of the Civil War and its consequences through African American eyes in this critical contribution to the nation's literature. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.3Literature English (North America) American fiction Middle 19th Century 1830-1861LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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This piece of writing is great--five stars--as a social study of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. It covers all kinds of territory, from questions of passing and privilege, education, colorism, political advocacy, political corruption, prejudice and racially-motivated extrajudicial violence, and very presciently describes an understanding of race as socially constructed and socialized. However, as a novel it's kind of a mess, and I cannot say the plot really drove me to keep reading. I wish its execution as fiction were as strong as the social and political questions it explores. Considered as one of the first major literary works by a nineteenth-century Black woman writer, it's still very well worth reading in spite of my quibbles! ( )