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I’ve been meaning to write a review of ‘Wench’ by Dolen Perkins-Valdez for ages now, but just haven’t been able to get a grasp on it. It’s one of those books where even though the descriptive scene setting is good it’s not exactly what you go to the book for. It’s the dialogue and interactions between characters, the unique approach to a well worn subject of historical fiction and the plot that induce a greedy urge to gobble up the book. I think I probably read it too fast and that’s why I’ve struggled to review it.‘Wench’ is a solid piece of historical, that follows four southern slaves: Lizzie, Sweet, Renee and Mawu, who are ‘mistresses’ to their southern slave masters. They are regularly taken to a hotel called Tawawa House, so that the masters can escape the censure of their wives. The hotel is situated in Ohio, in the North of America, where the early stages of abolition are underway. Free black servants work at the hotel, but the women from the south remain property of their masters. It’s an uneasy time and an exceptionally strange period in the history of slavery, which was one of those strange historical movements that relied entirely on a kind of worldwide make believe that what was happening made sense. As the black slaves observe the black servants moving freely it becomes more urgent to them to question the system they live under. Dolen Perkins-Valdez is adept at showing readers just how ridiculous the reality of slavery law was, as some black characters are free while others remain slaves in a free territory just because they are owned in the south.
The author is good at exposing parts of a life of slavery few other writers examine. She looks at the uncomfortable truth that despite their bad treatment some slaves, such as Lizzie, believed themselves in love with the masters who abused them. The psychology of slavery is really well examined from a variety of angles, until it’s possible to understand why Lizzie makes decisions that may seem illogical to modern readers. Lizzie’s master Drayle seeks to legitimise his abuse of slaves, by making Lizzie reflect love back at him, confirming to him that he is not doing anything wrong. She also examines the Quakers refusal to keep slaves, alongside their inability to accept that slaves often wanted to turn away from God.
The most complicated issue she brings up is the idea that to slaves children were a mixed blessing. The more children Lizzie has the harder it becomes for her to think about escaping, as the children tie her to Drayle’s plantation. She had to watch her children work as slaves and worries about them being forced out of the main house, to a harsh life working in the fields. When Lizzie brings on a miscarriage because she is considering escaping, her female Quaker supporter can’t summon any understanding for her situation. All she sees is children as God’s blessing, but she doesn’t understand that for Lizzie another child means a further unbreakable connection to Drayle. Lizzie’s decision causes conflict with Drayle’s wife, who envies Lizzie and her two children. Although she wants Lizzie’s connection with Drayle to be broken and has previously tried to sell her without him knowing, she still calls Lizzie wicked for having arranged to miscarry. Once again the story shows the illogical reasoning that slave owners used to justify their actions against slaves. When Lizzie is having Drayle’s children Fran sees her as a whore, but when Lizzie finds a way to stop having Drayle’s children Fran sees her as unnatural and evil. In Fran’s mind the relationship is never as much Drayle’s fault as it is Lizzie’s fault.
Ok I’m flagging now, even though there’s lots more to talk about and as I write I find I can remember what happens quite clearly. Never leave books several weeks before reviewing them, lesson learned. Anyway, if you like historical fiction that gets right under the skin of an age, written in a confident style ‘Wench’ would make a great addition to your shelves.
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The Lost Entwife
Fledgling
