Yellow Wife

Heart-breaking, upsetting and a very moving fictional story that is interwoven with real historical events and real places, such as the Devil’s Acre. What makes this story even more poignant is the knowledge that the brutality and slavery did happen. Even the Plantations, a more civilised existence were still sites of oppression, and it brings to mind the horrors of slavery and the landowners who made it possible. The main protagonist is Pheby Delores Brown, a child of mixed race who lives on the Bell Plantation in Virginia with her parents. After the tragic and untimely death of her mother, the education and freedom promised to Pheby on her eighteenth birthday never materialises and instead she is shipped off by the new mistress to a jail in Richmond Virginia. Catching the eye of the jailer, Marse, Pheby becomes his mistress, “The Yellow Wife”. A title that affords her an easier existence compared to the other slaves that were worked tirelessly, tortured, shackled, and sold and for those that were no longer of any value, murdered. Given a higher status among slaves, does not mean an uncomplicated and pain free existence, for Pheby has no freedom and frequently tends to bruising left on her by the brutal father of her children and is forced to watch the flogging of the man she loves and father of her first child Henry Essex. This was a fantastic book and well written. I felt the author confronted a dark period in history in a way that was respectful of the people and educational for us readers that are still learning the stories from around the world in the 18 and 19th Century that have shaped our world today.

Excellent read

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson is a breathtaking, gut-wrenching, and deeply human story that has stayed with me long after I turned the final page. Born on a plantation, Pheby is the mixed-race daughter of the plantation’s medicine woman and its master. Her early years are sheltered compared to others around her—she’s educated, admired, and shown a glimpse of a life that feels almost free. But that illusion shatters, and what follows is a journey of unimaginable pain, sacrifice, and survival. This story doesn’t shy away from the brutality of slavery. The depictions of the torture, cruelty, and inhumanity of the slave trade are both harrowing and necessary. What carries the reader through is Pheby’s strength—her fierce love for her children, her devotion to Essex, and her sheer will to endure. The Jailer, with his unpredictable shifts from charm to cruelty, kept me on edge the entire time. I found myself holding my breath through entire chapters. What makes this story even more powerful is knowing it’s inspired by the real-life Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who lived at Devil’s Half Acre as the mistress of a slave trader. Through Pheby’s character, Johnson pays tribute to women whose courage and survival have been erased or forgotten.

I read this book in ONe day. A major page turner. Must Read! The characters came to life and made you connect with ancestors. All though a fiction. The story was based on true events and what now is a historical college.

Pheby. Everything about this book got under my skin and into my various emotions good and bad. Pheby was born on a Plantation and soon not only her mother who was already a slave, she too became a slave, except when she got to be 18 years old the Master promised to give her freedom papers. Would that really happen? Although this is fiction it holds facts too. I was riveted and glued both in a good way and bad way to this story. Good In that Sadeqa writes the words so well you are hearing them loud and clear and in certain circumstances within the pages I felt right there…..standing there, both appalled and as helpless as Pheby. Pheby was a strong character and that is because of her Mother. Pheby in turn had the same character and awareness to help not only her future but her children. More so the son she had with her True Love. On one occasion I gagged. I’m only a reader, I’ve not experienced these atrocities yet I gagged. It’s horrendous to me that others can treat human beings like this. Ah you say, that’s past. No it isn’t. Read Maid by Fiona Mitchell. This is a strong book, with strong character. Good characters. Kind characters and the Devil himself character. The writing is brought to life by the author. I challenge you not to feel, not to be shocked and also appreciate the words and exact writing from Sadeqa that puts you right in the centre of this time in history and you feel a part of it. Which emotion would get you to act? Amazing work. I’ve seen and read ROOTS. And THE COLOR PURPLE by Alice Walker. Both are well known, and I put this in equal standing with that acclaim.