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Iola Leroy; Or, Shadows Uplifted
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) born to free parents in Baltimore, Maryland, was an African American abolitionist and poet. Her first volume of verse, Forest Leaves, was published in 1845, the book was extremely popular and over the next few years went through 20 editions. In 1850, she started working in Columbus, Ohio as a schoolteacher. Three years later in 1853...more
Paperback, 213 pages
Published
May 28th 2007
by Dodo Press
(first published 1892)
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I had to read this novel, not just because I have to for uni :( but also because it is considered to be one of the very first novels written by a black woman. Being such an important text, it just had to be delved into. However, I found that because approximately half of the book is written in dialect that was attributed to how uneducated black slaves did speak, that the novel was a grueling read. Yet, I did like the themes of the book, and knowing that it was written by a black woman, made me v...more
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I'm halfway through, and I'm not sure one could, if one really tried, write more dreadfully. To get close, one would have to mimic the styles of Danielle Steele and Robert Ludlum, overlay it with the worst sentimentality of the past three hundred years, and then weld it all together with grim death marches of exposition that make Cliff's Notes read like great literature.
Even then it would be a close contest. I would rather read the most stultifying of State Department briefings than ...more
Even then it would be a close contest. I would rather read the most stultifying of State Department briefings than ...more
I'm reading this for the Penguin Classics book club I just joined. This is the one to read in memory of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Written over a hundred years ago, it has the authenticity of first-hand knowledge and experience. A great book !!
Again: awesome if you like that sort of thing.
This novel has all the flaws of typical nineteenth century literature (overt sentimentality, didactic moralizing, too much exposition), but the story is still interesting--shortly before the Civil War, Iola Leroy, a young Southern belle, loses her father and discovers that she is black, not white. She and her mother are then sold into slavery. The story follows her and other family members through and for a few years after the Civil War. Oprah should make a mini-series out of this one!
This was an important book when it came out in 1892. It was the first widely read novel by a black woman writer to deal with the African American experience during slavery, the war, and reconstruction. Harper uses this form to break stereotypes, reveal and critique racism that affected the lives of black people post slavery. I was particularly interested in the characters, like Iola, who could pass as white but were not accepted once their racial background was revealed.
i read this when i was about 11 and didn't really grasp the significance until i re-read it this year. powerful story about seemingly obvious illusions, the artificial color line, the breakdown of self and truth as a young woman discovers she is black and fights to arrive at some form of individual identity during the American civil war.
So overly saccharine it made my teeth hurt. And who would have thought a novel written by a temperance supporter especially for women’s church groups would be so damn preachy?
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Very early novel about slavery, its effects, and the struggle after the civil war, but also about how patriarchal power is associated with colnialism, imperialism, racial domination, and industrialization. Those are the words of the woman introducing the novel of the copy i read.
Well worth reading.
Well worth reading.
Not bad by any means...a bit superficial at times, but hey, it deals with rough issues: the end of slavery, the start of segregation, and the issue of light skinned slaves passing for white people.
Moralistic, to say the least. But hey, consider the time period. So much of what needed to be written was being written in a straight forward manner; at least, women writers were speaking up.
It's difficult to evaluate this fairly as literature because the styles have changed so much since it was written. As part of the historical cannon, it's definitely worth reading.
Of all the books we read for my African American Realism class, this was by far my favorite.
Really cool. So modern and feminist! She was ahead of her time.
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Amazing.
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Born to free parents in Baltimore, Maryland. After her mother died when she was three years old in 1828, Watkins was orphaned. She was raised by her aunt and uncle. She was educated at the Academy for Negro Youth, a school run by her uncle Rev. William Watkins, who was a civil rights activist. He was a major influence on her life and work.[1][2] At fourteen, she found work as a seamstress.
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