A More Perfect Union
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- 4,99 €
Publisher Description
'A riveting love story across the challenges of race and poverty… Huf's delicate blend of passion and compassion is compelling, impressive and never sentimental.' —Andrea StuartA forbidden relationship. A love affair forged in secrecy. A couple facing betrayal at every turn...Henry O'Toole sails to America in 1848 to escape poverty and famine in Ireland, only to find anti-Irish prejudice awaiting him. Determined never to starve again, he changes his surname to Taylor and heads south to Virginia, seeking work as a travelling blacksmith on the prosperous plantations.Sarah is a slave. Torn from her family and sold to Jubilee Plantation, she must navigate the hierarchy of her fellow slaves, the whims of her white masters, and now the attentions of the mysterious blacksmith.Fellow slave Maple oversees the big house with bitterness and bile, and knows that a white man's attention spells trouble. Given to her half-sister as a wedding present by their white father, she is set on being reunited with her husband and daughter, at any cost.Based on the true story of the author's great-great-grandparents, and brilliantly reimagined, this is an epic tale of love and courage, desperation and determination.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Huf debuts with a wrenching chronicle of slavery in the U.S. inspired by the experiences of her great-great grandparents, an Irish immigrant and an enslaved Black woman. In 1848, Henry O'Toole flees the potato famine in Ireland, arriving penniless and starving in New York City. Anti-Irish prejudice keeps Henry from getting work, so he changes his surname to Taylor and heads to Virginia. After working as a blacksmith making neck rings and wrist shackles at various plantations, Henry falls in love with Sarah, an enslaved woman at Jubilee Plantation. They try to keep their illegal relationship secret, but after word gets out, the other enslaved people on the plantation bully and snub Sarah. Then, after witnessing an enslaved worker's torture, Henry vows he will never make chains again. Narration alternates between Henry, Sarah, and Maple, an enslaved half sister of the plantation master's wife, who causes trouble for Sarah. It seems as if Sarah will never be free after Henry's attempts to buy her freedom fail, but the couple's hope and bravery persist. The descriptions of pain and violence are disturbing if familiar, but this stands out by achieving the tone of a story passed down through generations. It adds up to a memorable tale of love and freedom.
