John Brown’s Women

Higginbotham (The First Lady and the Rebel) portrays John Brown’s path toward violent abolitionism in this meticulous epic. In 1833 Pennsylvania, 16-year-old Mary Day learns about the horrors of slavery while working at Brown’s house and declares, “That’s cruel, and so very wrong. Someone should put a stop to it,” to which Brown, a devout Puritan, replies, “It appears that you are an abolitionist.” He then proposes, and their marriage marks the beginning of his family’s involvement in the cause. In 1848, Brown meets with Frederick Douglass, and seven years later, Brown; his son, John Jr.; and well-educated daughter-in-law, Wealthy, travel to the Kansas Territory, determined to help make it a Free State. But after clashes with pro-slavery militants, they are accused of murder. In 1859, Brown’s 13-year-old daughter Annie volunteers to fight alongside her father as he enacts the long-awaited plan he shared with Douglass to free people enslaved in Virginia, culminating with the raid on Harper’s Ferry. Despite Brown’s conviction of treason and subsequent execution, Higginbotham shows how others saw him as a moral hero. Through tragedy, triumph, outrage, and defeat, Higginbotham ably portrays the legacy of Brown and his family as stalwarts in the fight against slavery. Historical fans will feel right at home here. (Self-published)