John Brown’s Women
Abolitionist John Brown’s remarkable life and family are vividly explored through the eyes of three women: his wife, Mary; his daughter-in-law, Wealthy; and his daughter, Annie. Mary is a fascinating character, phlegmatic and stoic, but not without strong feelings or emotion. She takes on the children of John Brown’s previous marriage and loves them as much as the many children she and Brown then have together. John Brown comes and goes, his anti-slavery work always in the background of the central drama of the trials and tribulations of family life at a time of high infant mortality. When the perspective moves to Wealthy, the novel’s action moves to Kansas, setting the groundwork for key historical events at Harper’s Ferry, as seen through the eyes of Brown’s daughter Annie. Finally, Higginbotham returns to Mary, who hopes to see her husband one more time before he pays the ultimate price for his actions and the anti-slavery cause.
More than painting a picture of John Brown’s life through the eyes of the women in his life, Higginbotham’s novel makes accessible the whole period and the moral conflict over slavery within white society. Each of John Brown’s women are fully-fledged, believable, and interesting characters. A rich portrait of 19th-century America emerges, with all its flaws and hardships, and the story’s climax is emotionally charged and gripping. Recommended.
