Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Harcourt Children's Books (2008), Edition: 1, 224 pages
Description
A young girl who serves as letter writer for her blind stepmother is haunted by her unwitting role in Nat Turner's Rebellion, one of the bloodiest slave uprisings in the history of America.
User reviews
LibraryThing member SamanthaMarie
Nat Turner's rebellion would not have been so murderous if he had not had a map of the local plantations. But where did the map come from? This book follows the story of Harriet Whitehead, an illegitimate daughter living with her father's estranged family in Virginia. She chafes under the rule of
An engrossing story of the rebellion that does not attempt to explain or justify anyone's actions, either Nat Turner's or the slave owners. It tells the story like it is and lets the full horror of the beatings and mistreatments be seen through eleven year old Harriet's eyes. No one is completely a saint or completely a sinner in this book. It tells the story with and immediacy and realness that is often lacking in dry historical accounts.
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her rigid preacher half-brother whose God is all fire and judgement. When she meets Nat Turner, who preaches a loving God, she is intrigued.An engrossing story of the rebellion that does not attempt to explain or justify anyone's actions, either Nat Turner's or the slave owners. It tells the story like it is and lets the full horror of the beatings and mistreatments be seen through eleven year old Harriet's eyes. No one is completely a saint or completely a sinner in this book. It tells the story with and immediacy and realness that is often lacking in dry historical accounts.
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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC
This was a great story seamlessly weaving fictional characters with actual people. Based on a true event, the Nat Turner rebellion, the author has created a story leading up to this uprising where over 50 people were left murdered. Eleven-year-old Harriet, the narrator of the book, is a terrific
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character who is not afraid to stand-up against the cruelty her older brother shows towards his slaves. When Turner comes to work for the family, Harriet she is tricked into giving him a map of the plantations in the area which he uses in his uprising. This book is violent and gruesome at times but gives a wonderful introduction to slavery in America's South for those who only have a vague knowledge of the subject. Show Less
LibraryThing member shsunon
It is 1830. I Harriet Whitehead age 11, live on a successful Virginia plantation with my stepmother and my half-siblings. I don't lack for material things, but I feel alone in this family, like I don't belong. I don't get along with Margaret. My brother Richard is now a Methodist minister who
I write letters for my blind stepmother, Mother Whitehead; these letters are both personal and professional; I learn about the finances of running a plantation and the general gossip of the community. Nat Turner recently entered our lives. He has been hired to make and repair furniture for us. And he is also a preacher who speaks of a God of forgiveness and love. I have a certain rapport with this eloquent, pleasant slave. He asks me for a map of Southampton County. He wants to preach to the families of the Southampton plantations. But I am uneasy about his request. The Letter Writer tells my tragic story; it is not for the faint of heart.
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preaches a punishing God. Richard is negative toward me. My only true friend is my slave, Violet. I write letters for my blind stepmother, Mother Whitehead; these letters are both personal and professional; I learn about the finances of running a plantation and the general gossip of the community. Nat Turner recently entered our lives. He has been hired to make and repair furniture for us. And he is also a preacher who speaks of a God of forgiveness and love. I have a certain rapport with this eloquent, pleasant slave. He asks me for a map of Southampton County. He wants to preach to the families of the Southampton plantations. But I am uneasy about his request. The Letter Writer tells my tragic story; it is not for the faint of heart.
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LibraryThing member xicanti
Harriet, a young girl living on a Southern plantation, provides a rebel slave with a map in this fictionalized account of Nat Turner's slave uprising.
Rinaldi's strength definitely lies in her ability to evoke the time period. This book feels just as you'd expect a book set in the early 1800s to
I also liked how Rinaldi dealt with the two opposing views on religion her young protagonist encounters. She gives them equal weight; while there is some suggestion that Harriet's preacher brother could be kinder, especially where the slaves are concerned, I don't feel that Rinaldi treats his approach to God as any less valid than Nat's... at least at the beginning of the book. Things become much less clear as the story progresses.
Overall, though, I find that I'm rather underwhelmed. The book feels like a lot of little pieces that never quite come together. Rinaldi has developed an intricate family dynamic for Harriet, but the only parts that really click are her relationships with her "servant" Violet and her sister-in-law Pleasant. Otherwise, the connections between herself and her family are just too shallow. We hear about how much her stepmother loves her, but we never really see it. Likewise, we hear about how much everyone values the baby, but we never see it. We get the barest glimpse of preacher Richard's true feeling about his family. Her sister Margaret feels like an afterthought.
In some ways, this approach fits in with Harriet's character. As the outsider narrator, she feels no great connection with any of these people and so isn't likely to expend much energy on them. Fitting as it is, though, it doesn't exactly make for compelling reading.
The historical event that forms the base of the novel also suffers from sketchy treatment. Again, this is somewhat understandable. Harriet goes through an horrific ordeal for which she is partially responsible. She's not going to want to elaborate. Realistic, yes; compelling, no.
I am, however, willing to consider that I may just be the wrong audience for this book. THE LETTER WRITER deals with the bloodiest slave uprising in American history. I'm not an American. I know the big events, (like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War), and some of the things that particularly interest me, (like the Louisiana Purchase and the gold rush), but I'm not well versed on American history as a whole. The author's note makes it seem that all Americans know about Nat Turner's slave uprising. If this is the case, I'm sure they'd be able to fill in the blanks for themselves, and the problem is not as big as it could be. It does mean that the book is only fully accessible for a very particular segment of the world's population, though... and I don't fall into that group.
Rinaldi also states in her author's note that she wanted Nat to remain misunderstood and so made no real attempt to offer answers or explanations for any of the events she wrote about. Once again, I find this realistic but not as compelling as I would've liked.
It was a decent book, but it just didn't go deep enough for me. I'd consider it appropriate for those with an interest in American history, but those who aren't as familiar with these events probably won't get much out of it.
(Review copy provided by the publisher. This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog, Stella Matutina).
Rinaldi's strength definitely lies in her ability to evoke the time period. This book feels just as you'd expect a book set in the early 1800s to
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feel. The language is mostly appropriate, (with a handful of anachronisms that may be corrected in the final edition; I have an ARC), and Rinaldi has done a good job of incorporating period details.I also liked how Rinaldi dealt with the two opposing views on religion her young protagonist encounters. She gives them equal weight; while there is some suggestion that Harriet's preacher brother could be kinder, especially where the slaves are concerned, I don't feel that Rinaldi treats his approach to God as any less valid than Nat's... at least at the beginning of the book. Things become much less clear as the story progresses.
Overall, though, I find that I'm rather underwhelmed. The book feels like a lot of little pieces that never quite come together. Rinaldi has developed an intricate family dynamic for Harriet, but the only parts that really click are her relationships with her "servant" Violet and her sister-in-law Pleasant. Otherwise, the connections between herself and her family are just too shallow. We hear about how much her stepmother loves her, but we never really see it. Likewise, we hear about how much everyone values the baby, but we never see it. We get the barest glimpse of preacher Richard's true feeling about his family. Her sister Margaret feels like an afterthought.
In some ways, this approach fits in with Harriet's character. As the outsider narrator, she feels no great connection with any of these people and so isn't likely to expend much energy on them. Fitting as it is, though, it doesn't exactly make for compelling reading.
The historical event that forms the base of the novel also suffers from sketchy treatment. Again, this is somewhat understandable. Harriet goes through an horrific ordeal for which she is partially responsible. She's not going to want to elaborate. Realistic, yes; compelling, no.
I am, however, willing to consider that I may just be the wrong audience for this book. THE LETTER WRITER deals with the bloodiest slave uprising in American history. I'm not an American. I know the big events, (like the Revolutionary War and the Civil War), and some of the things that particularly interest me, (like the Louisiana Purchase and the gold rush), but I'm not well versed on American history as a whole. The author's note makes it seem that all Americans know about Nat Turner's slave uprising. If this is the case, I'm sure they'd be able to fill in the blanks for themselves, and the problem is not as big as it could be. It does mean that the book is only fully accessible for a very particular segment of the world's population, though... and I don't fall into that group.
Rinaldi also states in her author's note that she wanted Nat to remain misunderstood and so made no real attempt to offer answers or explanations for any of the events she wrote about. Once again, I find this realistic but not as compelling as I would've liked.
It was a decent book, but it just didn't go deep enough for me. I'd consider it appropriate for those with an interest in American history, but those who aren't as familiar with these events probably won't get much out of it.
(Review copy provided by the publisher. This review originally appeared in a slightly different form on my blog, Stella Matutina).
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
ISBN
0152064028 / 9780152064020