Lydia Bailey

by Kenneth Roberts

A fascinating, thoroughly researched historical novel of Haiti and Africa, and the early United States, outlining Haitians battle for freedom seen through the eyes of one man. This 1947 outing features Albion Hamlin, who comes to Boston in 1800 to defend a man accused of violating the Alien and Sedition Act. In a whirlwind of action, Hamlin is jailed, then escapes to Haiti in search of his client's daughter, Lydia Bailey, with whom he has fallen in love simply by gazing at her portrait. Roberts is known for his historical accuracy, so this should please fans of the genre.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Classics, Adventure

488 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Kenneth Lewis Roberts, a noted American, wrote his historical novels, including Northwest Passage (1937), about the colonial period.

Roberts worked first as a then popular nationally known journalist with the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 to 1928. Roberts specialized in regionalist historical fiction. He often wrote about terrain of his native state and also depicted other upper states and scenes of New England. He for example depicts, the main characters in Arundel and Rabble in Arms from Kennebunk, then called Arundel; the main character of Northwest Passage from Kittery, Maine, with friends in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the main character in Oliver Wiswell from Milton, Massachusetts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth...

Reviews

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started this book I admit I had no idea what it was about...I was simply reading it for my Around the World challenge (I needed a book set in Haiti and this one fit those requirements) but to my surprise I really loved it! And it was also incredibly easy to read. That definitely was a big plus! I was at first a little bit daunted by the size... In the edition I was reading there were 45 lines of text on a full page so it's a lot more per page than your average book and it's 488 pages. But the story flowed so smoothly I soon found myself mesmerized after a bit of a bumpy start.

I didn't like the beginning of this book.. and that was due to Albion's father. Albion is the main character and it's his father who sets him onto his long adventure. But his father came off as very bitter with arguments and I didn't like that. I guess maybe I just don't like arguments.

But this is foremost an adventure story and it's set against two different exotic backgrounds, Haiti and Tripoli. It's also war stories in a way too as there's much fighting on large scales. From the little blurb at the back of the book it seems the author has done much research before writing this excellent book so I think much of the battles actually took place. Some of the people mentioned were apparently real too.

The environments play a big role in this novel and it's described so well! That is one reason why I loved this story so much. There's just so much detail not only in the plants of Haiti but also in the smells. And scents played a big part in Tripoli too. Like the burning sugar in Haiti and the ammonia stench in the castle at Tripoli to the exotic perfumes worn by the women.

The heart of this story is the friendship between a white man named Albion and a black man named King Dick. The two meet in Haiti and they become fast friends, trusting each other with their lives. They go on many dangerous missions with each other and see many awful things like death and destruction. The people of Haiti are fighting for their freedom from France and that leads to much trouble and bloodshed. This is a violent story. Oh and I love how King Dick talks for some reason.. and I liked all of the main characters too. They seemed very real..

Albion is also searching for a young woman, an English teacher, in Haiti. He has fallen in love with a painting of her and he's also an attorney so she is going to inherit money from her uncle so he needs to find her. Finding her and keeping her safe is his primary goal. So yes, it's a love story but a very clean one.

One thing I loved is how Haiti truly came alive in this book. It wasn't some generic setting of heat, palm trees and beach. You had unique people in their native dress, voodoo (it's amazing how the drums can send messages across the whole island!), Plantations of various crops, mountains and thick jungle, their diets (feroce was mentioned which is salted cod with oil, garlic, pimento, avocado and manioc flour)...

And Tripoli also came alive equally well! The theme of slavery returns in Tripoli too. Slavery and freedom.

I saw several themes running through this adventure story, including how money is often mismanaged by people of higher rank in office. They make promises to do things but later these promises are forgotten while the common everyday person suffers (one example is that the Navy requires much supplies to do their job but instead the funds go for fancy dinners of the leaders back home). Often the people might get fed up and then there is a revolution. Sometimes these broken promises lead to wars like they did in Tripoli. Leaders also might put their friends into posts but those friends are not really qualified and that leads to other problems. And some leaders are out for glory instead of doing the right thing that needs to be done. And it's very hard to do the right thing as it requires a lot of bravery. So this story explains all of these problems between the leaders and the common people in an easy to understand way.

One highlight of the Tripoli segment of the story is the appearance of the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides).

I did find the end dragged a bit like the beginning did. That's why I'm giving it four stars. Otherwise this is a very interesting, engaging story. I really was hooked on it and I did read 100 pages in about 3.5 hours, so I was really flying through it. I really had not expected to like this story so much! But I did.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like all of Kenneth Roberts' historical fiction which looks deep at American history to show the part nobody remembers. Oliver Wiswell showed the point of view of Tories during the American Revolution and raised a riot when it came out because the patriots were shown in less than flattering terms. These days that is all the rage so his books deserve a renaissance.

This book takes a look at the Haitian revolution for independence, getting there via the American Alien and Sedition Act which most of us have never heard of.

Entertaining adventure, a sweet romance, and historically accurate facts all add up to one of my favorites of Kenneth Roberts' books.

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel is set in Haiti during the mid 19th century when it was a French colony fighting for independence. The novel was well written but brutally descriptive with very violent scenes. Very compelling characters with a little romance thrown in made it an entertaining read. Thanks to my Grandmother, I have a copy of this 1947 publication on my bookshelf.

[Readitnweep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes you on quite a ride. There is a romance within its pages but make no mistake - this is an adventure story. Lots of action and travel. The imagery is well crafted, and the characters are highly defined. At just over 600 pages, it's long but I had no problem staying with the story. Great ride!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this over 50 years ago and it impressed me. Worth at least a look.

[Brady McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tobias Lear, great villain. Excited to read his Wikipedia page to see if he really did suck this much.
Liked this a lot more than I thought I would

Finally finished all the books I got at Paul’s Day! RIP Paul’s Bookstore :(
Looking forward to getting to read stuff more randomly now though

[Steve Schinke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to start, but a good read of Haiti and the Barbary Coast. A bias, understandably, against pissant politicians that stop good people from doing the right things. I like the way the Roberts develops his characters.

[Lynette Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in 1947, this book should have been two separate novels instead of one. Set in the early 1800s, the first two-thirds of this book is about the war between the Haitians and the French. Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to reclaim Haiti as a base so that his troops could then invade New Orleans (Louisiana) because Bonaparte wanted to control America--the world! However, the French navy's attempts to regain Haiti failed due to the incredible cast of characters both real and fictional. The governor of Haiti decided that burning down every town on the island would deter the French and maintain the Haitians' freedom from slavery. This burning included every European plantation as well as the inevitable murder of most of the white population and those people of mixed blood who looked down on the native Haitians. There were, however, some whites who managed to stay alive (mostly scoundrels--but NOT all), and that takes us to the last one-third of the novel: The Barbary Wars in North Africa, specifically, Tripoli; except this war involved the United States. With a go-ahead from Thomas Jefferson, the war commenced. The plan was to return to the throne the rightful owner from his idiot younger brother who refused to yield the throne and who also held the rightful king's wife and sons hostage. With the American and Arabian victory within reach, one asshole American "diplomat," Tobias Lear (a name to research because he was a real bastard), jumped in and slyly took the glory away from the Americans and the rightful king by arranging a terribly misguided treaty between Tripoli and the US. That, of course, meant that the heroic and disgraced American soldiers had to escape immediately in order to save their lives, and the Arabians who helped the Americans had to high-tail it into the desert. I admit that this is a dense book, but such historical research by the author!! I learned so much about Haiti and Tripoli! Awesome read.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I realized pretty quickly that I might have to bail on this one due to racism, and yup...made it a little over a hundred pages. I was remembering how black characters were treated in "Oliver Wistwell," and when it became clear that the main character of this one was headed to Haiti, I kind of knew where we were headed.
I might have soldiered on regardless, but the first few chapters weren't that great anyway. This book has a bad case of "as we all know so well" disease. Right from chapter one, there are characters going on long detailed rants about things like the Alien and Sedition Acts, even though all the characters in the room already KNOW everything about the Alien and Sedition Acts and this is clearly an awkward way of dumping out reams of exposition. "John Adams, who has been the president since 1796, signed the Alien and Sedition Acts to target Jeffersonians, as we all know so well!" Etc. You get the point.
And this is all in service of getting our hero (from Maine, obviously) to Haiti, where he can encounter wacky black comic relief characters. I'm sure defenders will claim that Roberts is sympathetic to Haiti and Haitians, and makes the villainous characters the "real" racists, and "product of its time" and all that, but the fact is that the book presents a picture of Haiti circa 1800 that is ignorant and misleading and counterproductive if you actually want to understand the history of Haiti. I need to go back to Roberts's books that are set in Canada, maybe. Does he have time to be racist in "Rabble in Arms"?

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years ago I asked my father what his all time favourite book was and he said it was Lydia Bailey. This book has sat on my bookshelf for years and I finally decided to read it. I'm so glad I did.

Each page is packed full of information and descriptions that almost transport you to that place and time. It took a while to read this book as it took me time to absorb all that I read.

It is truly an amazing story. Set in the early 19th century we meet an American lawyer and farmer, Albion in Portland, Oregon. He travels to Boston to defend a man accused of violating the sedition act. While defending his client he admires a portrait of a girl who was his client's niece. Lydia was her name. Albion discovers that she had gone to Haiti as a teacher. After being thrown in jail while defending his client he escapes and travels to Haiti.

He gets caught up in Haiti's struggle for independence against Napoleon. He befriends a native, King Dick, and together they find Lydia in the back country of Haiti all the while dealing with war between the blacks and the whites. Scenes in the book so vividly capture the brutal atrocities.

Eventually Lydia, Albion and King Dick escape from Haiti and travel to France. Upon leaving, France, Albion and Lydia are captured by sea pirates and end up being held captive in Tripoli for over 2 years. King Dick finds them and they then get caught up in the Barbary war between the USA and Libya.

It's a story of love, friendship and endurance. It's a story that makes history come alive. I'm so glad I finally read this amazing book .

[Bruce G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It went from three stars, to four stars, to five as I read further. In the beginning, with the racist tropes about the people of Haiti, I was determined to give it no more than three stars no matter how much I enjoyed it. By the end, I had abandoned that position.

The book was published in 1947 and in that day, it was perfectly acceptable to say things which, today, stand out like neon signs of bigotry. But that was then, and this is now. I do not believe in revisionism of either history or the literature of the times in order to suit current standards. It is what it was.

Once that battle was over, the rating soared to five stars. This book is a magnificent example of historical fiction at its best. The way that the author wove together an account of Federalist and Democratic-Republican rivalry, the Quasi-War with France, the revolution in Haiti, and the Barbary Coast War, is simply astounding in its credibility.

Fascinating story. A long novel made for short reading.

And he did it without a single cuss word, something that is utterly impossible for current authors. He got strong emotion across without it, and even with amusement at times, especially from Arab speakers.

The romance is powerfully portrayed and genuinely felt, as described by a man who is very much in love. And the author did it without a single sex scene, something else that is impossible for writers of today.

This is the first book by Kenneth Roberts that I have read. I will be sampling the rest of his oeuvre, for sure. In the meantime, five stars for Lydia Bailey.

[Ian Durham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was prepared, early on, to give this a lower rating for some of the racial and gender stereotypes. A deeper consideration of this book gives me exactly the opposite view. In fact there was a bit of role reversal going on here. It was ultimately the portrayal of the character of King Dick, a Sudanese man, that stood out. King Dick was portrayed as an indefatigable and strong leader who, through his various connections, his ingenuity, and his worldly intelligence, repeatedly saved the day, as it were. The character of Hamet Karamanli was also strong as was the titular character Lydia Bailey. Roberts was, of course, partly constrained by history in what he could tell and how he could represent the characters who were historical. And I do think that he might have gone a tad overboard on some of the descriptions of people like Dessalines and Joseph Karamanli which did seem to play up stereotypes to some degree which is why I only gave it four stars. But it was enlightened even by some modern standards, but particularly so for a book written in 1947. King Dick was, hands down, the hero of this book and he was portrayed in a very non-stereotypical manner, at least in my reading of it. Of course, that is merely my own reading of it and, as a white male, I have a certain natural bias. But I thoroughly enjoyed it (though was angry at the ending which Roberts was bound to because of history).

[Jay Dewey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kenneth Roberts was one of my favorite authors back when I was twelve and now I can see why even though I don't remember reading Lydia Bailey back then. Roberts stuffs his tales with plety of adventure along with enough blood and gore to thrill a pre-teen.
Now that I'm approaching 80 these are not qualities that whet my appetite. Had it not been that I rarely leave a gook unfinished I'd have given up reading much sooner. As it was the Lydia Baily sat on my reading shelf for months before I could manage to forge my way through the last ten pages.
I don't recommend this book for those in my age category, though I do for pre-teens with a literary thirst not satisfied by TV or games.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife ask me several nights ago what my favorite book in high school was, and I told her that this one was one of my favorite books -- by one of my favorite authors. During the summer of 1964 I read every one of Kenneth Roberts' books in our local library. That was near 60 years ago, and now I am reacquainting myself with this historic novel. Thanks to my wife, who got a kindle version for me!

[Danielle LeFevre Hatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could have just as accurately been titled "Failings of the US Navy on a World Stage: 1802-1805". Plotwise there were some really frustrating and unsatisfying elements, but that's historical fiction for you - people made choices. That's history.

I'll admit I knew pretty much nothing about Haitian or Tripolitan history, so I was totally fascinated. I will say it was much more graphic than I was expecting, especially the Haiti part.

[L.E. Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Roberts uses his talent for research to craft a tale about a subject not often explored - the Barbary Pirates "war" on the fledgling United States. His well-crafted characters are typical of his work. If you have an interest in early American history, this is an excellent work that explores an area you probably know little about.

[Katrina McCollough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I never thought I would fall in love with a character named King Dick. I'm a horrible reviewer, but this book was one of the best I've read in so long. The dynamic of characters, the fluidity of time and places passing. Amazing read.

[K.B. Pellegrino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this a few years ago when I found a copy on the shelves of a Vermont B&B. It made for a great overnight when there was nothing but rain outside and a copy of this novel and a fire inside.

[Samantha Glasser]

This book was on the New York Times best-seller list.

[Susan Janneck]

Wonderful book. Would highly recommend.

[Tad Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roberts knows how to spin a yarn that will keep you turning pages, and he sheds a powerful, searching, highly partisan light on some little known history.

[Tflinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great historical fiction.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Kenneth Roberts many years ago. He was a master storyteller who had a gift for turning research into fascinating stories.

[Ed Lehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a teen...don't remember what year but remember enjoying it.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw a news story a few months ago about a man who had checked out this book about 60 years ago from his school library and found it. He did the right thing, and returned the book to the library. A cute piece for the evening news but when asked about the book, the man remembered it and said it was a good book so I decided to find it and read it myself. It is a good book.

Based on real events of the United States in Haiti and other parts of the world, the protagonist, Albion Hamlin, falls in love with a picture of a girl who he is told is dead and later finds out is alive. He sets off to Haiti to find her but that part of the world erupts in war. They get away and find they have been betrayed by a smarmy character who keeps cropping up and they are enslaved in Tripoli and fight again. I liked the personal story of Albion and Lydia.

So much political comment that seemed as relevant today as it did in the early days of America. One line from the book says so much. "But I'd be mightily interested in helping America to remember, with fireworks or anything else, the harm that the weakness, blindness, shortsightedness, selfishness, jealousy, and political rancor of small men in high places can bring upon their country and the world." When these small men (and women today) try to carve out a legacy, so many others get hurt in their wake and hundreds of years later, their legacy is shown for what it truly was, desperation.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I found this book enjoyable and a bit subversive, America breaking treaties and horrible federal officials! Quite a change when compared to 50/60s grade school history books with Washington chopping down the cherry tree(never happened) and Honest Abe(lawyer). Instead we have the character of Tobias Lear, an untrustworthy man of dubious judgement.

Here we find out about Tories and the Alien and Sedition Acts, which did come up in high school history and the brief war with France for refusing to come to her aid per treaty(unmentioned).

Other topics are the Haitian Revolution where the blacks freed themselves from slavery and the First Barbary War as told from the perspective of the fictional protagonist, Albion Hamlin. Both are pretty ugly and are worth further reading.

As a story, it's still a good adventure but it's feeling its age, there's some racist tropes and the title character, Lydia Bailey, is a bit of a trophy and Albion could be seen as a stalker in some sense. This book did inspire a life long love of history, so I'm leaving it a four.

[Beakerkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read some of the criticism of this book and it is wholly unjustified. The Haitian Revolution was fairly brutal in comparison with other revolutions.

The book is a fine effort from a brilliant author. When one reads a Kenneth Roberts novel the best friend of the lead character is frequently more interesting than the lead. As for the book itself King Dick is the real star of the book. When the book was written in 1953 the notion of the Black Hero as seen in films much later was not even a concept.

The love story angle other than the falling in love with a woman from a painting is better developed than in other Roberts novels.

If you are reading for enjoyment this book is pleasurable on many levels.
It imparts plenty of history without being a bore.

POINTER to those considering reading this book. When reading any work of
Kenneth Roberts remember to store the names of people you meet the in a few pages as you will frequently be seeing them later.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenneth Roberts is a memorable author.... he goes through enough detail and adds enough human story that the history and story stay with you. But Roberts has that writing magic to make it feel real, as if i was living it, so it stays with me.

We should understand the fate of the colonial-based colonies and how each struggled for independence and the perils. I don't ask myself questions about why Haiti has NO trees on it anymore, or why the poverty is seemingly unshakeable. Roberts helps you live the entire story. Surprisingly, I was not left with the feeling that the French officials are 100% responsiblee for Haiti's condition today, close, but there is enough blame for all.

The Barbary War part of the story was completely new to me. I am sure there is another side to the story... but, politicians (man and politics combo) again illustrated their total ineptness. So interesting!!!!!!!!

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in high school. Made no particular impression on me at that time. Then I read an article where 100 famous people told what their favorite historical novel was. Two or three said Lydia Bailey because it was their first clue that America hadn't always done things honorably. Either I already knew that or just didn't find it surprising. The novel overs the alien and sedition act and our less than honorable actions in Haiti and Tripoli. The little love story isn't bad, although I find Lydia herself annoyingly perfect. What struck me were the descriptions of blacks: "simian countenance;" "black banana lips;" "Black banana fingers"; and "wool" instead of hair. I guess that was acceptable in the 1940's when this was written, but makes me gag (and have a lesser opinion of Kenneth Roberts).

[Meleah]

amazon descrip: The fledgling settlement at the mouth of the Cape Fear is menaced by pirates in this novel set in the early 1700s. Blackbeard, working out of his base on Ocracoke Island, hinders the overseas trade that Huguenot refugee Robert Fontaine hopes will bring prosperity to Carolina coast. Fontaine's daughter's courtship and marriage to the enterprising David Moray add a romantic element to the novel. The action moves back and forth between Europe and points in the New World. This is the third novel in the author's Carolina Series.