Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patrick Henry's Family

by Ann Rinaldi

Sarah Henry, wife of the famous statesman Patrick Henry, is losing her mind, and she's secretly being kept in the cellar because she is a danger to herself and her children. Daughter Anne has a secret, too. She knows which child will inherit Sarah's madness, and she'll pay any price to protect her siblings from this information.
With insight and compassion, Ann Rinaldi explores the possibility that Patrick Henry's immortal cry of "Give me liberty, or give me death," which roused a nation to arms, was first spoken by his wife, Sarah, as she pleaded to be released from her confinement. Told from the point of view of Patrick Henry's children, Or Give Me Death eloquently depicts the secret life and tremendous burdens borne by one famous American.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, American Revolution, Middle Grade, American Revolutionary War

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2003

About the author

Ann Rinaldi (b. August 27, 1934, in New York City) is a young adult fiction author. She is best known for her historical fiction, including In My Father's House, The Last Silk Dress, An Acquaintance with Darkness, A Break with Charity, and Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons. She has written a total of forty novels, eight of which were listed as notable by the ALA. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears was listed as one the best novels of the preceding twenty-five years, and later of the last one hundred years. She is the most prolific writer for the Great Episode series, a series of historical fiction novels set during the American Colonial era. She also writes for the Dear America series.

Rinaldi currently lives in Somerville, New Jersey, with her husband, Ron, whom she married in 1960. Her career, prior to being an author, was a newspaper columnist. She continued the column, called The Trentonian, through much of her writing career. Her first published novel, Term Paper, was written in 1979. Prior to this, she wrote four unpublished books, which she has called "terrible." She became a grandmother in 1991.

Rinaldi says she got her love of history from her eldest son, who brought her to reenactments. She says that she writes young adult books "because I like to write them."

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea behind Or Give me Death is based on the real lives of Patrick Henry's family. The mom in the family (named Sara, which gave me the willies) goes crazy. Of course, this is 1774, and there's no mental health care to be found. Instead, the family refurbishes their cellar and locks her down there. She spends four years (FOUR YEARS!) locked in the cellar before she dies. AGH!

The story is told from the POV of the eldest two of Sara's daughters, but I think that was an authorial mistake. The story would have been much stronger if it had been told either from one POV or from the POVs of all of the women in the story (6 or 7 of them), especially if Rinaldi had made room for Pegg, the oldest female house slave.

I did like that there was no melodrama about the slaves. They were presented as real people in impossible situations (including Sara thinking they were poisoning her, beatings, and the constant, grinding labor to which they were subjected), and that was a relief.

I also liked the feeling of oppressive social mores that formed the lives of the women. They lived under a burden of 'propriety' that confined everything they did. Girls, if you think you have it bad, you should read this book!

Overall, this isn't a bad effort, especially because it sticks strictly to the facts that are known about the lives of Patrick Henry and his family. In the back of the book, there's an author comment section in which she freely admits which parts of her subjects' lives are embroidered.

[Tristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge, huge, huge Ann Rinaldi fan and so of course I snatched this one up when I saw it. It's the story of Patrick Henry's home life, and doesn't focus nearly as much on Henry as it does his wife and children, but during this era, Henry was gone often defending others and laying the groundwork for our nation. In the meantime, his wife suffered a severe mental collapse and attempted to drown her newborn son.

Patsy, the Henry's oldest daughter, is the point of view character for the first half of the book. Through her eyes, we see her worry for her mother, the stress of trying to hold the family together, and her fear of what will happen if she fails. The second half is told through Anne's perspective, the younger daughter who feels the sting of Patsy's stress.

This wasn't my favorite Rinaldi book, but I did enjoy it.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-done historical novel for the YA crowd. Ann Rinaldi is very good about not shying away from the grimmer parts of history despite her youthful audience. I was a passionate devotee as a preteen.

Still a good read as an adult.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried at the end of this book!!

[Kellyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

We seldom consider the cost paid by the families of the men considered heroes. Patrick Henry worked tirelessly to help guide the colony of Virginia as it moved toward independence. His family suffered from his long absences; it was especially difficult for his wife, Sarah. As a result their daughter, Patsy, ended up caring for the children and the plantation, including the slaves. Patsy describes her mother’s decline into mental illness, the restlessness of her family’s slaves, and her own resentment toward her family.

Rinaldi accurately portrays the difficulties of daily life in the colonies. She captures the precariousness of life and the hardships endured by the colonists. This sobering account does not portray Patrick Henry in a particularly good light. His devotion to the American cause is unquestioned but his benign neglect of his family is heart-breaking.

[Yara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about how Patrick Henry's family used to live, and the different acts that were going on during this period of history. It also included the time when he spoke his very famous sentence "Give me liberty or give me death."


I rated this book 5-stars because it has lots of description and string dialogue in which the speakers spoke the English accent that was spoken in the 1700s. It was very interesting to read especially because it talked about Patrick Henry's family life and included lots of details in some parts. It also spoke about one of his slaves' niece getting tortured, and later on, killed; and had recorded dates of important and unimportant dates; as well as dividing the book into 2 parts in which the first part which was written through his oldest daughter, Patsy's, point of view and the second being through his other daughter, Anne's eyes.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greater insight to the Words, "Give me liberty or Give me Death!" statement by Patrick Henry.
Insight to life on the frontier of the South and Plantation life.

[A. Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not the worst or best book I've ever read, although it was pleasantly interesting. Not sure how much is fact and how much is fiction, but it was a pleasure to read nonetheless. The plot was somewhat bland and repetitive as well as the description of characters, but each character was distinct and the plot was crystal clear. I enjoyed it, honestly.

[elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for a school book group, didn’t expect to like it as much at first because i don’t read alot of books in this genre but it was actually an eye opening story and told very well

[Leonie Vrieze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up without knowing anything about it. Wasn’t until the end that I realized the story regards one of the founding fathers of the States. The book was surprisingly relevant with everything going on right now with BLM. It was an easy read, with some very relevant topics. Or Give Me Death is a wonderfully written family drama, with a surprising plot twist at the end !!

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Described how mental health issues were dealt with in the late1700s. There were no medications (except laudnum) and no treatment facilities to go to.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have come to expect so much more from Ann Rinaldi. She was the first author to introduce me to the world of historical fiction. When I first started to read vigorously my aunt gifted me with the Ann Rinaldi book 'an aquantice with darkness" and after that I moved through the rest of her series rather rapidly. My favorite one to this day would be a 'break with charity' which explored the Salem witch trials. All of the novels that I have read by Rinaldi so far have female narrators, and "Or give me Death" was the first novel of hers to have a dual narrator over the course of the story. Even though I liked this book less then I did Rinaldi's other works I will admit that it was probably one of her more original works when it comes to narrative style.

The story is that of Patrick Henry's family on Patrick Henrys path to governor. The story is narrated in sections by the two different daughters. The first part of the tale belongs to Patsy, the oldest daughter, and the second part is left to Anne the wild middle child. These two girls live in a world of secrets but the biggest secret, the one that threatens to consume them, is their mothers (Sara Henrys) madness. This madness slowly infects the whole family, in tell Patrick Henry has his wife locked away in the cellar at the bottom of the house. This does not keep her from predicting the future. These prophecies all seem to come true which sends Patsy into a panic as she wonders whether she herself will inherit her mothers madness. Yet it is Anne who Sara Henry releases to secret to. Anne then hides the truth telling Patsy that it is herself, Anne who will inherit their mothers "bad blood" and mental fragility.

After this point the narrative switches over to Anne entirely, and the rest of the novel is spent with Anne fighting the control of her older sister and raising horses with her brother John. Sara Henry passes away shortly into Anne's narration. War is breaking out within the colonies and John, and Patsy's husband MyJohn are sent away to fight. While John is away Patrick Henry marries Dorothea his son's sweetheart, and this sends John to madness. We find out in the final pages that Anne has been lying all around and it is not in fact her who carries the madness but her brother John. She confesses this truth to Peggy, the negro slave who has accompanied the family throughout the story. Anne is left to wonder what would have happened if she had simply told the truth instead of covering up John's bad blood. Would her brother still be alive?

Ultimate the book seems to deal less with History then it does the difference between truth and deception. Rinaldi frequently draws upon the theme of deception and she does this so boldly that sometimes it can be overwhelming to the reader. We have Anne repeatedly talking about the lies within the Henry house and how it impacts her. I would have liked to see more of the outside world and the colonial world leak into the house, but rather as a reader I was trapped inside the madness and lies of the Henry household. This was a drama more then a historical fiction. I give it 2 stars because I do love Rinaldi and have loved all her other novels. However this one just happened to fall short of the ball park.

On a final note it is important to mention that Rinaldi fleshes out the end of her novel with a short conclusion where she reasons out all the events within her book. THIS BOOK IS FICTION. That is all the epilogue proves. All of the lines that Rinaldi draws between the story that she has created and the actual world are whimsy and nothing else. Everything is a bit of a stretch ( especially the part where Rinaldi tries to reason that Henry Patrick stole the most famous part of his "give me liberty or give me death" speech from his own wives mouth)

[Katherine Basto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ann Rinaldi, her crisp, writing style and her ability to bring historical stories to life. "Or Give Me Death" was not one of my favorite Rinaldi novels. The story focuses on Patrick Henry and his family. His wife suffers from mental illness and instead of going to the asylum, is locked away in the cellar. The pain a family goes through with a mentally ill member must be devastating and Rinaldi does a fine job capturing this pain and confusion.
The first half of the novel is told by the oldest daughter, Patsy. She is more serious and concerned she has inherited her mother's condition. The second half is told by Anne, sensitive and also concerned with inheriting the madness gene.
I didn't feel like I really got to know Patrick Henry well. The ending was a disappointment. I mean, can a mother(although conveniently she has the sight!) determine which of her children will inherit this condition? Perhaps, but it didn't ring authentic to me.
In her author's note, Ann Rinaldi said this was the most difficult book she ever wrote. I can understand this and it gives more credence to the story. It's not easy to share a family's madness and how they dealt with it!

[Catherine Petrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent historical YA novel from Ann Rinaldi. This time, she looks at the family of Patrick Henry, the "voice of the American Revolution." But the revolution takes a back seat here to the drama within Henry's own household. As he spent more and more time away from home working toward independence, his wife was descending into insanity, leaving his children to cope alone. There are some interesting insights here into Patrick Henry himself, but his daughters are the protagonists, with the first half of the book narrated by his eldest child, Patsy, and the second half by Anne. Rinaldi takes the known facts and extrapolates from there, imagining what it would have been like for teenage Patsy to run the household while caring for her younger siblings, protecting them from their mother, and trying to keep her mother safe. The relationship between the sisters is easy to believe, and seeing each from the other's point of view makes the portrayals that much more multifaceted. An engaging novel that looks at the toll that Patrick Henry's activism took on his own family.

[Narmin Aliyeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Or give me death" by Ann Rinaldi is a book about a colonist family in which the father is a famous patriot and works in the congress. This book gives the perspective of three of the children in the family. In this book the mother Sarah is slowly going crazy, or as the oldest daughter Patsy said "ill." Soon, the family found out that the disease was hereditary. This meant that this illness was not to be cured and can only be fixed by time. But the main concern was who will inherit the disease since the mother had many children. Her husband was almost never home. The person who took care of the little children the most, was Patsy, Pegg the slave, the oldest brother John and Patsy's boyfriend MyJohn. Who will inherit the disease from the mother?

I really like this book because it was very straightforward but it also made me very suspicious while reading it. I could also connect what I know from History class to this book. I recommend this to anyone who likes adventure, suspense, and historical fiction.

[Ibrahim Zayed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi book in my opinion is a very nice one because of how the story, the setting and the Charecters interact with each other. Especially with the two main charecters and their own separate conflicts. The story focuses on the family of Patrick Henry. Patrick henry is a patriot fighting for rights and indepenbdce against the british during the American revolution. He is always away from the family fighting for these rights. This drives he mother of the family to insanity. The mother is kind of a indirect villain because she causes all of the conflicts for her family. The two main charects tho are past nd Ann. Pasty is troubled because with her father gone she has to take control of the family. For Ann she knows all of th secrets and who will inherited the insanity but decides to hide the truth form the family in fear of the person being sent to an asylum. Overall i rate the story five starts because of how all of the pieces work very well with each other and how their are two conflicting events in the story

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel, “Or Give Me Death”, is a novel of Patrick Henry’s family, from two perspectives, eldest daughter Patsy and Anne. Their father is nearly ever home, and their mom after having her sixth child turns crazy and starts to do horrible things. So when patsy talks about it to her father, there final decision is to lock her up in the basement, the cellar. No one is supposed to go down, except Patrick Henry and their slave Pegg. But Anne secretly goes down and visits her, and since their mother can tell the future gets to know who will inherit her sickness. But Anne protects it at all costs and lies to her family. In all of this Patrick Henry is busy with trying to be independent. So in one of his most famous speeches where he says “give me liberty or give me death”, you soon to come to find out where he got those words in the book. I rate this book four stars, as it is really interesting and leaves you on the edge of your seat. I recommend this to people who like suspenseful books.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told from the viewpoint of Patsy and Anne Henry, daughters of Patrick Henry, the story revolves around their lives during the turbulent times preceding, and into the beginning of, the American Revolution. With their father away often, and their mother suffering from a mental illness that is rapidly making her insane, the story first follows Patsy's viewpoint as she tries to rise to the position of lady of the house, taking over the care of her 5 younger siblings and her own mother. About 3/4 through the book we are then taken to events from the viewpoint of Anne, the 4th in line of age. Anne is struggling greatly with what is expected of a young lady her age during this time, as well as the oppressive control of Patsy.

I can't say this book was amazing, but I will say that I enjoyed it for what it was, and as someone who doesn't tend to read a lot of historical fiction, that's saying a lot.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying thank God we live in a time where mental illness/depression/post-partum depression aren't treated like poor Sarah gets treated.

I like that this wasn't shy about showing the bad aspects of the two POV characters (Patsy had some serious racism and internalized sexism going on, Anne was brat with a lack of empathy when it came to her sister). I also liked that they switched the POV. That way both Patsy and Anne are sympatheic, since you're seeing the situation from BOTH their perspectives. It's a great example of unreliable narrator.

I also like that it wasn't shy in calling the decision making of one of 'America's Great Heroes' into question, because Patrick Henry made terrible decisions in this book. He tried to make sure Patsy didn't fall into depression by forcing her to do the same job that hurt her mother.

[Lina Zeitoun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book four stars because it is a very well written book, and I really enjoyed the ability to have the same story being told from 2 points of view.
this story is first told from the point of view of Patsy the eldest daughter of Patrick Henry and his first wife Sarah Shelton Henry. Patsy is 16 at first and is in love with a guy, she really wants to marry him but her father won't allow her for reasons she thinks are her mother being mentally ill and him worrying she will turn out like her mother. the second half of the story is narrated by Anne, thru out the story we see Anne receiving secrets and having no one to tell them to, she repeatedly asks her self the same question "when do you tell a secret, and when do you keep it? do you say it even if you know it will hurt someone you love?" What will happen will she tell her secret or keep it?

[Ray Cheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading is a great way to relax yourself when you're bored.
This book isn't as interesting as I expected it to be. It's about the family of Patrick Henry, who was a member in the sons of liberty during the American Revolution. He played a really big role throughout the independence of the colonies. The historical background that we are currently studying supports us to ensure a deeper understanding of their stories.
It's a great novel in which it demonstrates how harsh Patrick Henry's family was and how this might of affected him in his role of a patriot. His wife had a mental illness which lead his children into serious live risks.
I didn't really enjoy the book apart from the time period in which it was written in the American Revolution behind Patrick Henry.The whole book was definitely slow paced which really brought me bored.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an intriguing premise for a book. I didn't know much about Patrick Henry, other than of course his infamous 'give me liberty or give me death' line, and I definitely didn't know anything about his home life, but I found it interesting to read this historical fiction about it. Just the basic facts were historically accurate, but given the lack of information regarding Henry's personal life, the author out of necessity had to create the majority of the plotline and I think she did it admirably. I didn't really like that she started off writing from Patsy's point of view and then switched to Anne's, but I suppose Anne might've been to young to tell the story from the beginning, and it did at least serve to make Patsy more sympathetic and human. Overall I thought the book was pretty good and I enjoyed learning a little more about Patrick Henry.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of Ann Rinaldi's novels, I was suprised at my lack of intrest in this book. The only thing that kept me reading was wanting to know who was to get the metal illness. I hated patsy, and I think it takes real skill, may it be poor skill or great, to make a character that is the narrator unlikeable. I was annoyed by her and her sterness, I know that was the vocalpoint of the story but she agitated me to the point of almost stopping to read. I liked Anne better, but she agitated me also. She was too foolness and selfish. But the moral of the story was fantastic, the concept of lying is much needed to be discussed and I liked the twist in Rinaldi's teaching of the rights and wrongs of lies.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about, Patrick Henry who is in a household that is completely normal in that time period and with multiple slaves. After Sarah (Patrick's wife) has her sixth child she begins to loose her mind. This leaves Patsy their oldest daughter to take care of all her younger siblings, while her father Patrick is convincing America to rebel against Britain. When Sarah begins to loose her mind, she tells her daughter Anne that she can tell the future and can predict who will inherit her bad blood. Anne hides it from her sister and everyone is curious to know who got it. I rated this book 5 stars because, it was a book that keeps you thinking what is going to happen next and is good for readers who like suspense.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a fine book, focusing on Patrick Henry's family, as to show another side of him, like when looking back through history, you could see that he played an important in the American Revolution/pre-revolution, as you can see from the title, as its part of one of his well-known speech in which he says, "give me liberty or give me death." However, this book is there to show how this affects his family, how this important person faces different situations, how he acts around people he's close to. I think it's a good book as it shows the differences in his personality but also how this is affecting his family, how him being gone for work for so long affects their mental state, and the way they do things, how it changes and changes.

[Omar Kaddour · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "or give me death by Ann Rinaldi, is a book about a very dysfunctional family that lived in Virginia. (colonial times [1771-1780's])this family is composed of Patrick Henry, (the father) Pasty, who has to take care of the 5 other kids, The mother, who can't take care of the family because she has mental insanity, and Anne, who knows which one of the 6 kids will inherit the mother's madness. the family goes through a rollercoaster ride of the mother's calmness and how she goes insane. it got so serious to a point that they had to cage her up. this book is a very good book and has a very good explanation of what life would look like in the colonial/revolutionary times. This book ended up teaching me a lesson that I can implement in my life.

[SheReaders Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good story of a broken family in another time. Lies and secrets make it a drama but there are some very insightful themes and paragraphs. I loved the line when Pa is telling Anne that their family is broken and while they will watch others enjoy a whole, they must try to enjoy the pieces. But to be careful because pieces can be sharp and hurt you so instead, seek happiness outside of the family. Good solid advice from a founding father that has stood the test of time for anyone in a broken family.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Patrick Henry's Family during the pre-revolution. While Patrick Henry goes and fights for America, the children deal with the issue of their mother being mentally ill and wondering which of them will be victim to inheriting the illness. I liked this book. Every character in the book is complex and unique. The story is interesting and real. It has twists, and moments that talk about the harshness of the past with slaves, and the war. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, or character-driven books.

[Malina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars if that was a choice. :) I didn't like it as much as Rinaldi's Red-headed Princess; I think because of the change of POV halfway thru. I was left wondering what Patsy was thinking at the end, only hearing it from Ann's side. I agree with the review saying it would have been stronger to stick with just one POV or do all the women in the house, especially Pegg. It was fascinating to read about Patrick Henry's family and the time period.

[Esther Jeong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Or Give Me Death... The title and the cover of the book really made me want to read this book. Also the trailer.
This story is divided into half. First, Pastsy's (The oldest sibling in Patrick family) viewpoint and another half, Anne's viewpoint. Their mama's mad and has sight .First, Patsy took care of her but Anne later did as well. Other characters like MyJohn and Pegg supported a lot to overcome.