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Yellow Wife
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2021)9 hours, 31 minutes
“A fully immersive, intricately crafted story inspired by the pages of history. In Pheby, Sadeqa Johnson has created a woman whose struggle to survive and to protect the ones she loves will have readers turning the pages as fast as their fingers can fly. Simply enthralling.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
Called "wholly engrossing" by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Grissom, this harrowing story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world.
She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailer’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive, Pheby will have to outwit him, and she soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.
“A fully immersive, intricately crafted story inspired by the pages of history. In Pheby, Sadeqa Johnson has created a woman whose struggle to survive and to protect the ones she loves will have readers turning the pages as fast as their fingers can fly. Simply enthralling.” —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
Called "wholly engrossing" by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Grissom, this harrowing story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.
Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world.
She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailer’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive, Pheby will have to outwit him, and she soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.
Audiobook
First published January 12, 2021
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About the author
Sadeqa Johnson
9 books6,148 followersSadeqa Johnson is the New York Times best-selling author of five novels. Her accolades include being the 2022 Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy finalist, a BCALA Literary Honoree, and the Library of Virginia’s Literary People’s Choice Award winner. She is a Kimbilio Fellow and teaches in the M.F.A. program at Drexel University. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, VA with her husband and three teens.
website: www.sadeqa.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadeqasays
https://linktr.ee/Sadeqasays
website: www.sadeqa.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadeqasays
https://linktr.ee/Sadeqasays
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,803 reviews
February 10, 2021
Whew this isn't an easy read, but it's a necessary read. I don't think I really even read the summary of this book before diving in and part of me wished I would have. It didn't take away from the importance of the novel, but this is one that you need to be mentally prepared for before diving in. CW: graphic depictions of slavery, death of a child (twice), repeated rape, mental/emotional/physical abuse, torturing of slaves (particularly in whippings), graphic depictions of imprisonment.
Yellow Wife can be misleading if readers just look at the cover and title. While perusing my library's audiobook collection, I came across this book and thought it might an interesting read. Little did I know, it's based on the story of Mary Lumpkin who was an imprisoned sex slave to Robert Lumpkin. Similar to Mary's story, readers follow Pheby Brown from her time of being a slave on a plantation to her time spent with the jailer who owns a prison known as Devil's Half Acre. I'm very intentional about my use of the term "sex slave" because as described through Pheby's narrative, the physical relationship existed out of the need to survive not because of true love or attraction. This is vital to keep in mind as readers follow the fast paced narrative created by Johnson.
It is important to note that Yellow Wife is often compared to other slave narratives and while I understand the comparison, this book stands on it's own. It captures an interesting aspect of slavery: the experiences of those identified as biracial, those slaves who have to navigate their enslavement in a very different way. Pheby, understanding her privilege in being fair skinned, believes that her slave master will set her free and send her to the North to get an education. Unfortunately, the favoritism shown to Pheby pisses off the slave master's wife. Johnson does a great job illustrating the tumultuous relationship that has existed between White women and Black women especially during slavery. When White men raped and abused Black women resulting in children, White women took to blaming Black women without holding their husband responsible. The ill treatment that Black women often faced at the hands of the wives of slave masters is gratuitous. Nevertheless, Pheby eventually finds herself in the ownership of one of the most notorious jail owners in Virginia. His insatiable bloodlust will make readers cringe to their core. However, Johnson challenges readers to press forward, to engage with the fast paced narrative that keeps all on the edge of their seats until the conclusion. Pheby quickly learns that regardless of her skin tone, her ability to pass for White she is no better than those slaves kept in the jailhouse. Yellow Wilfe then becomes a story about survival and motherhood. Pheby endures the suffering for the sake of her children. This story tackles so much and does so very well. From colorism to the weaponizing of Black hair to motherhood.
This is not a novel to be missed in 2021. It's one of the best historical fiction novels that I've ever read. The writing was phenomenal with a fast paced plot and excellent character development. I'm grateful to Sadeqa Johnson for listening to the ancestors and taking the opportunity to capture this story. I highly recommend this book.
Yellow Wife can be misleading if readers just look at the cover and title. While perusing my library's audiobook collection, I came across this book and thought it might an interesting read. Little did I know, it's based on the story of Mary Lumpkin who was an imprisoned sex slave to Robert Lumpkin. Similar to Mary's story, readers follow Pheby Brown from her time of being a slave on a plantation to her time spent with the jailer who owns a prison known as Devil's Half Acre. I'm very intentional about my use of the term "sex slave" because as described through Pheby's narrative, the physical relationship existed out of the need to survive not because of true love or attraction. This is vital to keep in mind as readers follow the fast paced narrative created by Johnson.
It is important to note that Yellow Wife is often compared to other slave narratives and while I understand the comparison, this book stands on it's own. It captures an interesting aspect of slavery: the experiences of those identified as biracial, those slaves who have to navigate their enslavement in a very different way. Pheby, understanding her privilege in being fair skinned, believes that her slave master will set her free and send her to the North to get an education. Unfortunately, the favoritism shown to Pheby pisses off the slave master's wife. Johnson does a great job illustrating the tumultuous relationship that has existed between White women and Black women especially during slavery. When White men raped and abused Black women resulting in children, White women took to blaming Black women without holding their husband responsible. The ill treatment that Black women often faced at the hands of the wives of slave masters is gratuitous. Nevertheless, Pheby eventually finds herself in the ownership of one of the most notorious jail owners in Virginia. His insatiable bloodlust will make readers cringe to their core. However, Johnson challenges readers to press forward, to engage with the fast paced narrative that keeps all on the edge of their seats until the conclusion. Pheby quickly learns that regardless of her skin tone, her ability to pass for White she is no better than those slaves kept in the jailhouse. Yellow Wilfe then becomes a story about survival and motherhood. Pheby endures the suffering for the sake of her children. This story tackles so much and does so very well. From colorism to the weaponizing of Black hair to motherhood.
This is not a novel to be missed in 2021. It's one of the best historical fiction novels that I've ever read. The writing was phenomenal with a fast paced plot and excellent character development. I'm grateful to Sadeqa Johnson for listening to the ancestors and taking the opportunity to capture this story. I highly recommend this book.
February 2, 2026
This is a Historical Fiction book. This book takes place in the South (Virginia, but some of the places talked about in the book is in North Carolina) during the time people had slaves. We follow young female slave called Pheby Delores Brown. I have to say this book was hard to read at times, but I really think everyone should read this book. It is a part of the Southern past, and we cannot forget it. I felt the characters came to live in this book. I think this is the first book that was told in the point of view of a slave that I have read. This book was so beautifully written, and Miss Pheby touched my heart so many ways. I did not want to put this book down. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.
I have since brought a hard cover copy of this book. I re-read this book by listening to the audiobook, and I enjoyed the audiobook as well. I will say this is a very hard book to read, but it brings up things that should never be forgotten. The past is filled with bad and hurtful things I hope people can stop hurting each other one day.
I have since brought a hard cover copy of this book. I re-read this book by listening to the audiobook, and I enjoyed the audiobook as well. I will say this is a very hard book to read, but it brings up things that should never be forgotten. The past is filled with bad and hurtful things I hope people can stop hurting each other one day.
May 24, 2021
Yellow Wife by Sedequa Johnson is a 2021 37 ink publication.
Harrowing, emotional, incredible historical saga!
Pheby, on the cusp of her eighteenth birthday, a time when her white father, Jacob, had promised to free her, her fortune reversed, and she found herself being groomed to become the mistress of a slave trader, a cruel man, named Rubin Lapier.
Rubin presented Pheby as his ‘wife’, their children legitimized by his acknowledgement of them. Yet, Pheby is not free, she is at the mercy of Rubin, and she dared not cross him, for fear of losing her children.
But, when the love of her life, and the father of her first- born son, arrives at Rubin’s ‘jail’, Pheby takes a risk that could cost her everything, bringing into sharp focus the steps she must take to ensure all her children have a chance at a life she herself was robbed of….
I don’t know quite what to say…
This novel is so rich, the characters so real, I felt I right there with Pheby every step of the way. Equal parts heartbreaking, and triumphant, and inspiring, this story takes us through Pheby’s life from her late teens, though the raising of her children to adulthood, and beyond.
Pheby’s life started out sheltered, having been close to her Aunt, who taught her to read and play the piano. Her father’s wife was resentful and took the first opportunity she had to exact revenge, throwing all of Pheby’s future plans into a tailspin.
While her life was never really her own, she made the best of her situation- not just for her own sake, but for her children, and as it turns out, for others as well.
Pheby soothes her aching soul for the girls she is forced to prep, to enter the ‘Fancy Girl’ trade, by keeping a journal about the girls, honoring them, by remembering them, their names, their humanity.
This is a topic that rarely gets much ink in our history books. Pheby’s preparations for these girls tells a story all its own- a shockingly horrendous trade. Pheby’s narration doesn’t explore the details, but the reader gets the idea, and it definitely made me squirm in my seat.
The realities of slavery through Pheby’s eyes are harrowing, disgusting, and emotional. These passages are not for the faint of heart and I admit I spent a night or two, tossing and turning, thinking of the horrors described in this book.
While Pheby escaped the ‘Fancy Girl’ fate that was intended for her, she lived her life without the one man she truly loved, but her selflessness, and sacrifices, saved many, making her a true unsung heroine.
Dear Pheby, beyond all her challenges, with her own personal heartbreak, her battle with her own principles, she managed to carve out a life for herself.
It was an imperfect environment, though, and one that Pheby had to risk, to save her son. There were heart wrenching punishments she had to accept, concessions that had to be made, but at the heart of it all, Pheby is a mother, a fact at the center of her precarious choices, one that gave her both courage and strength to help others, in hopes of both protecting some- and saving others she loved.
Overall, the author did a great job- with research, with characterization, and with bringing our attention to yet another part of slavery seldom explored or written about. Pheby is a character I will think of often and this is a story that will stay with me for a long time to come…
Harrowing, emotional, incredible historical saga!
Pheby, on the cusp of her eighteenth birthday, a time when her white father, Jacob, had promised to free her, her fortune reversed, and she found herself being groomed to become the mistress of a slave trader, a cruel man, named Rubin Lapier.
Rubin presented Pheby as his ‘wife’, their children legitimized by his acknowledgement of them. Yet, Pheby is not free, she is at the mercy of Rubin, and she dared not cross him, for fear of losing her children.
But, when the love of her life, and the father of her first- born son, arrives at Rubin’s ‘jail’, Pheby takes a risk that could cost her everything, bringing into sharp focus the steps she must take to ensure all her children have a chance at a life she herself was robbed of….
I don’t know quite what to say…
This novel is so rich, the characters so real, I felt I right there with Pheby every step of the way. Equal parts heartbreaking, and triumphant, and inspiring, this story takes us through Pheby’s life from her late teens, though the raising of her children to adulthood, and beyond.
Pheby’s life started out sheltered, having been close to her Aunt, who taught her to read and play the piano. Her father’s wife was resentful and took the first opportunity she had to exact revenge, throwing all of Pheby’s future plans into a tailspin.
While her life was never really her own, she made the best of her situation- not just for her own sake, but for her children, and as it turns out, for others as well.
Pheby soothes her aching soul for the girls she is forced to prep, to enter the ‘Fancy Girl’ trade, by keeping a journal about the girls, honoring them, by remembering them, their names, their humanity.
This is a topic that rarely gets much ink in our history books. Pheby’s preparations for these girls tells a story all its own- a shockingly horrendous trade. Pheby’s narration doesn’t explore the details, but the reader gets the idea, and it definitely made me squirm in my seat.
The realities of slavery through Pheby’s eyes are harrowing, disgusting, and emotional. These passages are not for the faint of heart and I admit I spent a night or two, tossing and turning, thinking of the horrors described in this book.
While Pheby escaped the ‘Fancy Girl’ fate that was intended for her, she lived her life without the one man she truly loved, but her selflessness, and sacrifices, saved many, making her a true unsung heroine.
Dear Pheby, beyond all her challenges, with her own personal heartbreak, her battle with her own principles, she managed to carve out a life for herself.
It was an imperfect environment, though, and one that Pheby had to risk, to save her son. There were heart wrenching punishments she had to accept, concessions that had to be made, but at the heart of it all, Pheby is a mother, a fact at the center of her precarious choices, one that gave her both courage and strength to help others, in hopes of both protecting some- and saving others she loved.
Overall, the author did a great job- with research, with characterization, and with bringing our attention to yet another part of slavery seldom explored or written about. Pheby is a character I will think of often and this is a story that will stay with me for a long time to come…
February 22, 2021
"Yellow Wife" by Sadeqa Johnson is beautifully written African American Historical Fiction!
Pheby Delores Brown is born a slave on the Bell Plantations in Charles City, Virginia. Her mother the plantation's medicine woman, her father the plantation owner, Master Jacob.
Master Jacob and his sister, Miss Sally favors Pheby for her light skin and natural beauty. Miss Sally teaches her to read, play the piano and spends her days with Pheby. Master Jacob protects Pheby and promises her freedom at 18 years old.
Missus Delphina, Jacob's wife is jealous and openly cruel to Pheby. While Jacob is away on business she quickly sells Pheby to slave traders and arranges for her transport to the infamous Devils Half Acre Jail in Richmond, Virginia. This is a filthy jail where slaves are imprisoned under horrific conditions. Slaves are beaten, starved, left in cells surrounded by human waste and eventually auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The jail owner, Rubin Lapier sees Pheby and rescues her away from the auction block. No white woman will marry Rubin based on his reputation as the jailer. But Rubin wants children and so begins his plan to make Pheby Mistress of the Devils Half Acre Jail.
Pheby quickly begins to understand she has worth as a mulatto woman and perhaps her life with Rubin will be better than most white woman. She strikes a deal with Rubin and does what she has to do to survive and protect the ones she loves.
The realities of what it felt like being a slave through Pheby's protagonist view point is difficult to listen to through this book. The cruelties, the humiliations, the mental turmoil, family separated, the circumstances of being someone's property - all of this and more is extremely daunting.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Robin Miles who reads with appropriate emotion for this heartbreaking story. It feels like Pheby is there with you telling her story. Her wonderful voice inflections add the drama specific to the context and her voicing of the different characters is realistic and believable!
This amazing story was well researched by this author. It began with a family visit to the Richmond Slave Trail and discovering the half acre Lumpkin Jail where jailer, Robert Lumpkin lived with his mulatto wife, Mary and their five children. Thus the catalyst for this beautiful historical fiction story. Author, Sadeqa Johnson admits it was difficult to write about to a degree, but if African American ancestors could live it, then she could write about it.
I love this story. I love the characters and the deep character development. I love how this story created deep emotions in me.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is a book that needs to be read and shared, then shared over and over again!
Pheby Delores Brown is born a slave on the Bell Plantations in Charles City, Virginia. Her mother the plantation's medicine woman, her father the plantation owner, Master Jacob.
Master Jacob and his sister, Miss Sally favors Pheby for her light skin and natural beauty. Miss Sally teaches her to read, play the piano and spends her days with Pheby. Master Jacob protects Pheby and promises her freedom at 18 years old.
Missus Delphina, Jacob's wife is jealous and openly cruel to Pheby. While Jacob is away on business she quickly sells Pheby to slave traders and arranges for her transport to the infamous Devils Half Acre Jail in Richmond, Virginia. This is a filthy jail where slaves are imprisoned under horrific conditions. Slaves are beaten, starved, left in cells surrounded by human waste and eventually auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The jail owner, Rubin Lapier sees Pheby and rescues her away from the auction block. No white woman will marry Rubin based on his reputation as the jailer. But Rubin wants children and so begins his plan to make Pheby Mistress of the Devils Half Acre Jail.
Pheby quickly begins to understand she has worth as a mulatto woman and perhaps her life with Rubin will be better than most white woman. She strikes a deal with Rubin and does what she has to do to survive and protect the ones she loves.
The realities of what it felt like being a slave through Pheby's protagonist view point is difficult to listen to through this book. The cruelties, the humiliations, the mental turmoil, family separated, the circumstances of being someone's property - all of this and more is extremely daunting.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Robin Miles who reads with appropriate emotion for this heartbreaking story. It feels like Pheby is there with you telling her story. Her wonderful voice inflections add the drama specific to the context and her voicing of the different characters is realistic and believable!
This amazing story was well researched by this author. It began with a family visit to the Richmond Slave Trail and discovering the half acre Lumpkin Jail where jailer, Robert Lumpkin lived with his mulatto wife, Mary and their five children. Thus the catalyst for this beautiful historical fiction story. Author, Sadeqa Johnson admits it was difficult to write about to a degree, but if African American ancestors could live it, then she could write about it.
I love this story. I love the characters and the deep character development. I love how this story created deep emotions in me.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is a book that needs to be read and shared, then shared over and over again!
June 7, 2022
“My bruises might not look like yours, but they are there.”
A heartbreaking one! But still constantly leaves you with this feeling of hope since the characters constantly exhibited this.
Johnson definitely does not hold back on the horrors that Phoebe experienced and witnessed. We are there with her through all this, and this was in first pov so you know it immediately feels really personal. Her character grows both physically and mentally throughout the book, and none of it felt rushed. The evolution of the relationships characters have is quite important in their personal lives and the overall development of books, and Johnson does this well! We witness all kinds of characters, even the most horrible kind. There were some truly heart-wrenching parts in this one, but I’m glad that like a lot of books that reflect on slavery, a lot was kept real!
The jailer’s relationship with Phoebe was amazingly uncomfortable. Johnson obviously did this on purpose, and she definitely achieved her goal. Another great example of you never truly know the kind of decisions you’re gonna take unless you end up in the situation. I’m still not sure what made her different enough for the jailer to treat her better than the others.
There was a little romance in this one, but I didn’t really care for it.
Overall, Phoebe was definitely a strong woman!! She put herself in angsty situations for the sake of the people she loved. The parts where she was reminded time and time again that even though she has been treated a bit better than the others, she was still a slave, really was a reminder to us all. This is also inspired by real-life events and people, so as the curious person I was, I definitely looked more up.
Very satisfied with the ending!
A heartbreaking one! But still constantly leaves you with this feeling of hope since the characters constantly exhibited this.
Johnson definitely does not hold back on the horrors that Phoebe experienced and witnessed. We are there with her through all this, and this was in first pov so you know it immediately feels really personal. Her character grows both physically and mentally throughout the book, and none of it felt rushed. The evolution of the relationships characters have is quite important in their personal lives and the overall development of books, and Johnson does this well! We witness all kinds of characters, even the most horrible kind. There were some truly heart-wrenching parts in this one, but I’m glad that like a lot of books that reflect on slavery, a lot was kept real!
The jailer’s relationship with Phoebe was amazingly uncomfortable. Johnson obviously did this on purpose, and she definitely achieved her goal. Another great example of you never truly know the kind of decisions you’re gonna take unless you end up in the situation. I’m still not sure what made her different enough for the jailer to treat her better than the others.
There was a little romance in this one, but I didn’t really care for it.
Overall, Phoebe was definitely a strong woman!! She put herself in angsty situations for the sake of the people she loved. The parts where she was reminded time and time again that even though she has been treated a bit better than the others, she was still a slave, really was a reminder to us all. This is also inspired by real-life events and people, so as the curious person I was, I definitely looked more up.
Very satisfied with the ending!
October 25, 2022
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 beautifully 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 18th and 19th Century that have shaped our world today.
Sometimes a book like this encourages people to reflect on the prejudices that still exist whether its race, religion, sex, age, physicality, and wealth and is a reminder to keep moving forward, and society could still do better to remedy the disparities in society. I also think it is up to the authors who write books created around these dark periods and heart-breaking stories to write in a way that urges the reader to research and learn about the past and this author achieved it brilliantly. A fantastic read and highly recommended.
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 beautifully 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 18th and 19th Century that have shaped our world today.
Sometimes a book like this encourages people to reflect on the prejudices that still exist whether its race, religion, sex, age, physicality, and wealth and is a reminder to keep moving forward, and society could still do better to remedy the disparities in society. I also think it is up to the authors who write books created around these dark periods and heart-breaking stories to write in a way that urges the reader to research and learn about the past and this author achieved it brilliantly. A fantastic read and highly recommended.
April 1, 2022
I love historical fiction, but I usually stay away from this time period. I end up crying all the way through it and mad at the ignorance. So needless to say, yes, I cried over these pages. A mother's love is endless. It will go through the depths of hell to provide safety for our children. For even a sliver of hope for it. Pheby did what she had to survive. To make sure her children survived. I can't wrap my mind around on how it would be in her position. I wouldn't disrespect her by pretending too. Excellent read.
October 23, 2020
This story is inspired by the story of Mary Lumpkin and Lumpkin’s jail in Richmond, Virginia.
Bell Plantation, Charles City, Virginia, 1850. Pheby Delores Brown, after losing her mother and after broken promise of freedom, she is being sold to traders. At an auction, she is “rescued by gentleman’s kindness.” Rubin Lapier is the owner of the jail, where Pheby spent the night before the auction. And now is one of the workers at the jail sewing, mostly mending clothing. Her constant companion is “the click-clack sounds” of slaves’ iron confinements and “the moaning from inside the jail…” Should she follow in the footsteps of a woman she saw at the market? A woman like her, who isn’t free, “yet she lived a life better than some white women.” There is a reason why the jail is called the Devil’s Half Acre. Whenever she thinks she can endure this place, there is a reminder that she cannot.
The fastest page-turner ever and heart-pounding read. On one hand, the jail owner, known as the Bully Trader and on the other, a beautiful young slave woman. He is one of the cruelest people if not the cruelest person in town. He trades slaves without any scruples and enforces brutal punishments when requested by other slave owners. He is also a master of his “wife,” who is forced first to make the right decision for herself and later for her children. Once a mother she needs to protect her children at any cost.
This story brings heart-wrenching scenes of flogging, of slaves bidding, degrading transactions and agony of mothers being separated from their children and other members of the family. It’s all very real.
This is a story of an extraordinary woman, who learns that as a mulatto she is worth more than a black slave. She was promised freedom at the age of eighteen. When that eludes her, she weighs her options very carefully. Does she want to be a run-away slave or make a life out of situation the life presented her with?
With riveting prose the pages fly and the heart beats for the astonishing heroine. Well-developed character pulls you into the story immediately and stirs emotions within you. A grim time of history masterfully narrated.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Bell Plantation, Charles City, Virginia, 1850. Pheby Delores Brown, after losing her mother and after broken promise of freedom, she is being sold to traders. At an auction, she is “rescued by gentleman’s kindness.” Rubin Lapier is the owner of the jail, where Pheby spent the night before the auction. And now is one of the workers at the jail sewing, mostly mending clothing. Her constant companion is “the click-clack sounds” of slaves’ iron confinements and “the moaning from inside the jail…” Should she follow in the footsteps of a woman she saw at the market? A woman like her, who isn’t free, “yet she lived a life better than some white women.” There is a reason why the jail is called the Devil’s Half Acre. Whenever she thinks she can endure this place, there is a reminder that she cannot.
The fastest page-turner ever and heart-pounding read. On one hand, the jail owner, known as the Bully Trader and on the other, a beautiful young slave woman. He is one of the cruelest people if not the cruelest person in town. He trades slaves without any scruples and enforces brutal punishments when requested by other slave owners. He is also a master of his “wife,” who is forced first to make the right decision for herself and later for her children. Once a mother she needs to protect her children at any cost.
This story brings heart-wrenching scenes of flogging, of slaves bidding, degrading transactions and agony of mothers being separated from their children and other members of the family. It’s all very real.
This is a story of an extraordinary woman, who learns that as a mulatto she is worth more than a black slave. She was promised freedom at the age of eighteen. When that eludes her, she weighs her options very carefully. Does she want to be a run-away slave or make a life out of situation the life presented her with?
With riveting prose the pages fly and the heart beats for the astonishing heroine. Well-developed character pulls you into the story immediately and stirs emotions within you. A grim time of history masterfully narrated.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 28, 2022
Note: I received a free copy of this book, in exchange here is my honest review.
Uhhhhhhh….. my heart aches!! 💔 This was such a powerful and heart wrenching read. Pheby was an amazingly strong willed and determined character. ❤️ But the message of motherhood and the utter nature of giving oneself over completely, to ensure your own child’s safety, is so intense and true. 🥰 This was a difficult and amazing read!
Thank you @goodreads @sadeqasays and @simonandschuster #goodreadsgiveaway
Uhhhhhhh….. my heart aches!! 💔 This was such a powerful and heart wrenching read. Pheby was an amazingly strong willed and determined character. ❤️ But the message of motherhood and the utter nature of giving oneself over completely, to ensure your own child’s safety, is so intense and true. 🥰 This was a difficult and amazing read!
Thank you @goodreads @sadeqasays and @simonandschuster #goodreadsgiveaway
April 27, 2021
4+ stars!
A powerful, well-written, intriguing and harrowing story that sheds light on one of the worst times in our history - slavery. Slaves are at the centre of this story set in the 1850’s - on a plantation and in a prison setting. The way the slaves are treated is horrific, devastating and sickening. This book provides some insight on what it took for the slaves to survive both physically and mentally.
I was fascinated to see the way in which the slaves created a sense of family and belonging within their own community. As horrid and awful as their situations were, they found ways to be happy and thankful within their own circle of family. A true testament to the strength of the human spirit.
While I really liked the main character, Pheby, I felt as though she was kept an arms length away, preventing me from an emotional connection. I felt for her, but not deeply. This book was not as heavy as I had anticipated and it took me a third of the way to feel an investment in the story. I had hoped for a much more intense emotional connection which made this slightly disappointing even though I did enjoy the entire book and appreciated learning about this time in our history. The authors note at the end makes this book more impactful as it explains how the author was inspired by true events.
A beautifully written historical fiction novel that I recommend.
A powerful, well-written, intriguing and harrowing story that sheds light on one of the worst times in our history - slavery. Slaves are at the centre of this story set in the 1850’s - on a plantation and in a prison setting. The way the slaves are treated is horrific, devastating and sickening. This book provides some insight on what it took for the slaves to survive both physically and mentally.
I was fascinated to see the way in which the slaves created a sense of family and belonging within their own community. As horrid and awful as their situations were, they found ways to be happy and thankful within their own circle of family. A true testament to the strength of the human spirit.
While I really liked the main character, Pheby, I felt as though she was kept an arms length away, preventing me from an emotional connection. I felt for her, but not deeply. This book was not as heavy as I had anticipated and it took me a third of the way to feel an investment in the story. I had hoped for a much more intense emotional connection which made this slightly disappointing even though I did enjoy the entire book and appreciated learning about this time in our history. The authors note at the end makes this book more impactful as it explains how the author was inspired by true events.
A beautifully written historical fiction novel that I recommend.
January 28, 2022
The Yellow Wife is an extremely well done historical fiction, but it’s also incredibly sad. I feel like my timing to listen to this is perfect. Just this week, the Florida Senate passed a bill to make it illegal to make white people feel “uncomfortable”. This book should be required reading as to why we should be uncomfortable when we remember the past. While it is fiction, it’s based on a real prison and real people. The story is graphic in its details of the evils played out against the slaves. It’s not an easy story. But it’s a necessary one.
Pheby Brown is the daughter of the plantation owner. She was promised her freedom on her 18th birthday. But he dies before he can fulfill his promise and his wife sells her. She finds herself the mistress of the owner of a slave prison and trading site in Richmond.
The story deals with the sacrifices and the moral juggling Pheby is forced to undertake to keep her children safe. My heart was in my throat while I listened to this.
And I applaud Simon Schuster Audio for including the author’s note (something often missing in other HF audio books).
Robin Miles was a fabulous narrator.
Pheby Brown is the daughter of the plantation owner. She was promised her freedom on her 18th birthday. But he dies before he can fulfill his promise and his wife sells her. She finds herself the mistress of the owner of a slave prison and trading site in Richmond.
The story deals with the sacrifices and the moral juggling Pheby is forced to undertake to keep her children safe. My heart was in my throat while I listened to this.
And I applaud Simon Schuster Audio for including the author’s note (something often missing in other HF audio books).
Robin Miles was a fabulous narrator.
September 23, 2021
This is a deeply affecting book. It was this month's book club choice, and there's so much depth here if the reader looks beneath the surface.
It is the story of Pheby Delores Brown, born to an enslaved Black mother and white father, Jacob, the master of the plantation. She had some advantages at an early age, Jacob's sister taught her to read, write, and play the piano. After the sister died, Jacob took a wife who greatly disliked Pheby and her mother. Jacob had always promised Pheby her freedom when she turned 18, but circumstances prevent this from occurring and she is taken from the plantation and acquired by Rubin Lapier, a jailer and slave trader. He treats her somewhat as his "wife" but she is never far from knowing that she is his possession.
This is a very simplistic summary of such a complex and intense book. My heart went out to Pheby as she endured so many atrocities. This book is inspired by a real person (Mary Lumpkin) and her situation, so although many of the events of the novel are so horrifying they seem like they must be fiction, they are also real and true and based on research. I was moved to tears, yet I was also angered at the power and control these men had. This book is unique as it shows another side to what was going on at the time--the real situation these "yellow" or mixed-race women endured. Pheby was forced to have sex with "The Jailer" every night, bore him children, yet was denied even the simplest of freedoms. Her suffering is palpable but she also does what she has to do to survive and to help her children survive, despite the deep cost to herself.
Don't just read this book and take it at surface level. Dive deep and realize how many of these things have echoes here 170+ years later in 2021. We must do better.
It is the story of Pheby Delores Brown, born to an enslaved Black mother and white father, Jacob, the master of the plantation. She had some advantages at an early age, Jacob's sister taught her to read, write, and play the piano. After the sister died, Jacob took a wife who greatly disliked Pheby and her mother. Jacob had always promised Pheby her freedom when she turned 18, but circumstances prevent this from occurring and she is taken from the plantation and acquired by Rubin Lapier, a jailer and slave trader. He treats her somewhat as his "wife" but she is never far from knowing that she is his possession.
This is a very simplistic summary of such a complex and intense book. My heart went out to Pheby as she endured so many atrocities. This book is inspired by a real person (Mary Lumpkin) and her situation, so although many of the events of the novel are so horrifying they seem like they must be fiction, they are also real and true and based on research. I was moved to tears, yet I was also angered at the power and control these men had. This book is unique as it shows another side to what was going on at the time--the real situation these "yellow" or mixed-race women endured. Pheby was forced to have sex with "The Jailer" every night, bore him children, yet was denied even the simplest of freedoms. Her suffering is palpable but she also does what she has to do to survive and to help her children survive, despite the deep cost to herself.
Don't just read this book and take it at surface level. Dive deep and realize how many of these things have echoes here 170+ years later in 2021. We must do better.
January 27, 2021
Dealing with the same Hell.
Just different devils.....
Sadeqa Johnson presents a solid, walking-over-broken-glass historical fiction novel centered on plantation life in Charles City, Virginia. To her well focused credit, Johnson took a nugget of an idea while walking the Richmond Slave Trail with her family and transformed it into an outstanding novel. There was indeed a jailer who lived on a half acre of land overseeing a prison where slaves were bought and sold. He lived with his mulatto wife and five children. And there was the first flicker of light guiding the way for this outstanding novel.
We will come to know Pheby Delores Brown, a slave by her birth, but set to the side by Master Jacob and his sister. Light of skin and touched with natural beauty, Pheby was given privilege. She learned to read and to play piano and was doted on by Miss Sally. Her duties were light. Master Jacob gifted Pheby with the promise that she would be set free on her eighteenth birthday and would be sent to Massachusetts to attend a girls' school there. But those devils take their places and grab the reins to veer off the righteous path time and time again.
Master Jacob is away on his business travels and his wife, Missus Delphina, has the opportunity to spill her wrath upon Pheby. In a fit of rage, she sentences Pheby to a life at the abominable Devil's Half Acre in Richmond run by its namesake, Rupert Lapier, a devil of a man. He immediately takes to Pheby and sets her up as the mistress of his jail. They will have children together. But Pheby has her eyes set on freedom.
Sadeqa Johnson creates Pheby as a multi-layered character. As much as her advantages while living at Bell Plantation made her prosper as a young lady, it never served her well as she was thrust into a horrendous life that she only observed on the peripheral. She knew of the unspeakable inhumane treatment of slaves, but she was originally at arm's length from it. Her naivete is viewed on the surface as to her relationship with the slave worker, Essex Henry, who will impact her life greatly.
We will ponder Pheby's actions throughout the novel. For survival's sake, she dances with the devil. Please note: Johnson includes many graphic scenes of horror throughout her novel. She never sugar coats the abominations of slavery and its dehumanizing aftermath. Yellow Wife is a stark and long hard look at what transpired during this time in history. But it also includes "the rising".....from the depths of Hell and the suppression of even breath, valiant men and women found their voices and their footholds from beyond these clutches from an evil that still whispers its vile message even today.
Just different devils.....
Sadeqa Johnson presents a solid, walking-over-broken-glass historical fiction novel centered on plantation life in Charles City, Virginia. To her well focused credit, Johnson took a nugget of an idea while walking the Richmond Slave Trail with her family and transformed it into an outstanding novel. There was indeed a jailer who lived on a half acre of land overseeing a prison where slaves were bought and sold. He lived with his mulatto wife and five children. And there was the first flicker of light guiding the way for this outstanding novel.
We will come to know Pheby Delores Brown, a slave by her birth, but set to the side by Master Jacob and his sister. Light of skin and touched with natural beauty, Pheby was given privilege. She learned to read and to play piano and was doted on by Miss Sally. Her duties were light. Master Jacob gifted Pheby with the promise that she would be set free on her eighteenth birthday and would be sent to Massachusetts to attend a girls' school there. But those devils take their places and grab the reins to veer off the righteous path time and time again.
Master Jacob is away on his business travels and his wife, Missus Delphina, has the opportunity to spill her wrath upon Pheby. In a fit of rage, she sentences Pheby to a life at the abominable Devil's Half Acre in Richmond run by its namesake, Rupert Lapier, a devil of a man. He immediately takes to Pheby and sets her up as the mistress of his jail. They will have children together. But Pheby has her eyes set on freedom.
Sadeqa Johnson creates Pheby as a multi-layered character. As much as her advantages while living at Bell Plantation made her prosper as a young lady, it never served her well as she was thrust into a horrendous life that she only observed on the peripheral. She knew of the unspeakable inhumane treatment of slaves, but she was originally at arm's length from it. Her naivete is viewed on the surface as to her relationship with the slave worker, Essex Henry, who will impact her life greatly.
We will ponder Pheby's actions throughout the novel. For survival's sake, she dances with the devil. Please note: Johnson includes many graphic scenes of horror throughout her novel. She never sugar coats the abominations of slavery and its dehumanizing aftermath. Yellow Wife is a stark and long hard look at what transpired during this time in history. But it also includes "the rising".....from the depths of Hell and the suppression of even breath, valiant men and women found their voices and their footholds from beyond these clutches from an evil that still whispers its vile message even today.
February 10, 2026
This book was so hard to read. I had to stop and put it down multiple times. Books centered around slavery literally infuriates me but the story ……. The story was beautiful. And it’s tried and true the things a mother will endure for the sake of her children. I loved it.
April 9, 2025
No wonder the library waiting lists are so long. The Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson was better than I could have imagined. Despite reading numerous rave reviews, I did not expect to be so completely drawn into this beautifully written and mesmerizing story centering around slavery. Even though this is a fictional tale, it sounds like many of the non-fiction books I have read and/or lectures I heard regarding what life was like for Black people during this time period. This book centers around the experiences of Pheby Delores Brown, who ends up being the number-one mistress of a brutal jailer - and the infinite sacrifices (filled with unimaginable emotional despair) she weathered in her selfless quest to bring about futures imbued with better opportunities for those she loved.
Whether working the plantations, living inside White peoples homes as a domestic, or being a trusted head worker to a slave owner, all came with suffering, punishment, and loss(es) in one form or another. This is a necessary and timeless story which I highly suggest, as it provides us with a realistic look at the unfathomable mental abuse, harsh living conditions, the cruel separation of parents from children, husbands from wives, and many more anguishes enslaved people were forced to suffer.
Narrator Robin Miles delivers a riveting and heartrending performance - perfection.
Whether working the plantations, living inside White peoples homes as a domestic, or being a trusted head worker to a slave owner, all came with suffering, punishment, and loss(es) in one form or another. This is a necessary and timeless story which I highly suggest, as it provides us with a realistic look at the unfathomable mental abuse, harsh living conditions, the cruel separation of parents from children, husbands from wives, and many more anguishes enslaved people were forced to suffer.
Narrator Robin Miles delivers a riveting and heartrending performance - perfection.
June 11, 2021
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
5 🌟’s
This book is beyond amazing regarding the research and the incredible way Johnson has articulated writing Yellow Wife. It has taken me several days to process what I just finished reading. I absolutely can not imagine the incredible cruelty and heartbreaking lives these people were forced to endure. We follow the life of Pheby Brown born a slave, the main character from her late teens, having children and through adulthood. I had to stop reading many times to regroup and pull my emotions together. This historic fiction is such an amazing story at times I felt I was right there struggling with these broken lives.
5 🌟’s
This book is beyond amazing regarding the research and the incredible way Johnson has articulated writing Yellow Wife. It has taken me several days to process what I just finished reading. I absolutely can not imagine the incredible cruelty and heartbreaking lives these people were forced to endure. We follow the life of Pheby Brown born a slave, the main character from her late teens, having children and through adulthood. I had to stop reading many times to regroup and pull my emotions together. This historic fiction is such an amazing story at times I felt I was right there struggling with these broken lives.
January 8, 2023
Yellow Wife is a book that will remain with me for a very long time. It is harrowing, horrific, and incredibly difficult to listen to at times (I listened to it on audiobook).
It describes the lives of slaves on plantations, in jails, and on auction blocks. It delves into the very challenging decisions people make merely to survive.
Sadeqa Johnson is a fabulous author. The book is fiction but the research she conducted is very thorough, including trips to many plantations. Some historical accounts are captured within her phenomenal novel.
The book is not for the faint of heart.
It describes the lives of slaves on plantations, in jails, and on auction blocks. It delves into the very challenging decisions people make merely to survive.
Sadeqa Johnson is a fabulous author. The book is fiction but the research she conducted is very thorough, including trips to many plantations. Some historical accounts are captured within her phenomenal novel.
The book is not for the faint of heart.
April 17, 2023
A deeply moving, inspiring story of one woman's plight in an unjust world. The heartbreaking, painful story told in first person, renders the reader shackled to the protagonists unbearable suffering.
Pheby Brown was living on a plantation in Virgina, promised freedom. She was certain her ability to read, her lighter complexion, and her mother's blessing would get away from the slave trade and a free life. But everything changed after her mother died.
Mama always said the way to keep peace with white folks was to be available and invisible at the same time
She is thrust into a life of slavery, away from a safe home that treated her with decency, because of the white father that promised her freedom.
Pheby is given to a slave trader (jailer) named Rubin Lapier. Rubin presents Pheby as a "wife." They have two children together, but this is by no means a relationship of love. Pheby bore a child with the man she loved at the previous plantation. She will do anything to make sure he is safe and secure as well as the children she has--even if that means pretending to love—pretending to care about the man who enslaves.
I did not know if I should be relieved by the gentleman’s kindness or frightened to death
The heartache Pheby endures: preparing other slave girls for abusive encounters, the burden she places on herself to be a wife, but defy her emotions, all are gut-wrenching.
The novel brings the reader into the intense struggle of all the characters through elegant language, immersing us in uncomfortable moments and precious encounters.
Even though white men do not consider us women fully human, they cannot stop lusting for our flesh… Rest assured, you are his prized yellow wife.
Sadeqa Johnson writes with an empathy that lifts through the pages of the book. There were moments I felt like a fly on the wall, uneasy, wishing I could pull the characters out of their struggles.
Johnson researched and read many books in order to get an accurate portrayal of the time. Many of the characters are based on actual people found in historical archives.
I've seen the movies, I've visited plantations, but Yellow Wife brings life to the excruciating pain encountered by slaves, their fight for freedom, and the tyrants that broke them.
5/5 stars
Pheby Brown was living on a plantation in Virgina, promised freedom. She was certain her ability to read, her lighter complexion, and her mother's blessing would get away from the slave trade and a free life. But everything changed after her mother died.
Mama always said the way to keep peace with white folks was to be available and invisible at the same time
She is thrust into a life of slavery, away from a safe home that treated her with decency, because of the white father that promised her freedom.
Pheby is given to a slave trader (jailer) named Rubin Lapier. Rubin presents Pheby as a "wife." They have two children together, but this is by no means a relationship of love. Pheby bore a child with the man she loved at the previous plantation. She will do anything to make sure he is safe and secure as well as the children she has--even if that means pretending to love—pretending to care about the man who enslaves.
I did not know if I should be relieved by the gentleman’s kindness or frightened to death
The heartache Pheby endures: preparing other slave girls for abusive encounters, the burden she places on herself to be a wife, but defy her emotions, all are gut-wrenching.
The novel brings the reader into the intense struggle of all the characters through elegant language, immersing us in uncomfortable moments and precious encounters.
Even though white men do not consider us women fully human, they cannot stop lusting for our flesh… Rest assured, you are his prized yellow wife.
Sadeqa Johnson writes with an empathy that lifts through the pages of the book. There were moments I felt like a fly on the wall, uneasy, wishing I could pull the characters out of their struggles.
Johnson researched and read many books in order to get an accurate portrayal of the time. Many of the characters are based on actual people found in historical archives.
I've seen the movies, I've visited plantations, but Yellow Wife brings life to the excruciating pain encountered by slaves, their fight for freedom, and the tyrants that broke them.
5/5 stars
May 31, 2024
5/5 ⭐️ Wow. Amazing. All of the books I have read by this author have been 5 star reads for me. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Her writing is always so captivating and I always lose myself in her words.
This story was a heartbreaking one. I teared up a lot while reading this book. It touched me so deeply. I felt angry and heartbroken at everything that the main character, Pheby, had to endure 😔.
This story is about a young woman named Pheby who is unexpectedly thrust into slavery in the 1850s. This is a book that I know will stay with me forever. It was difficult to read at times for sure but Pheby’s determination for freedom and to protect her children at all costs was very admirable.
This story was a heartbreaking one. I teared up a lot while reading this book. It touched me so deeply. I felt angry and heartbroken at everything that the main character, Pheby, had to endure 😔.
This story is about a young woman named Pheby who is unexpectedly thrust into slavery in the 1850s. This is a book that I know will stay with me forever. It was difficult to read at times for sure but Pheby’s determination for freedom and to protect her children at all costs was very admirable.
December 30, 2024
2nd Read
I first read this on audio. I enjoyed the book. However, I felt like I was missing something, and I was. I got a much better understanding from the physical book where I comprehended the story word for word.
This story is so emotional and, at times, hard to read, but as a lover of historical fiction, it was so needed to be told.
A masterpiece and much more!!
******************************
I have read many books about slavery. The stories are always hard to imagine how anyone white or black could disrespect, humiliate, and literally beat a whole human race for the sake of their own wealth and pleasure. As an African American, these stories are part of my heritage, and i embrace the fact of how far we have come as a Black race.
Kudos to the author for doing the research and putting together a story near and dear to my heart. Everything about this story was believable. The characters were amazing, and the story flowed from beginning to end.
I would love to see a sequel that follows the children as they pass their lives as white females.
I first read this on audio. I enjoyed the book. However, I felt like I was missing something, and I was. I got a much better understanding from the physical book where I comprehended the story word for word.
This story is so emotional and, at times, hard to read, but as a lover of historical fiction, it was so needed to be told.
A masterpiece and much more!!
******************************
I have read many books about slavery. The stories are always hard to imagine how anyone white or black could disrespect, humiliate, and literally beat a whole human race for the sake of their own wealth and pleasure. As an African American, these stories are part of my heritage, and i embrace the fact of how far we have come as a Black race.
Kudos to the author for doing the research and putting together a story near and dear to my heart. Everything about this story was believable. The characters were amazing, and the story flowed from beginning to end.
I would love to see a sequel that follows the children as they pass their lives as white females.
June 6, 2024
★5 stars
✎𓂃 “You are only a slave in name. Never in your mind.”
One of the most deserving 5 stars I’ve ever handed out! 🌟
☆What to Expect:
Pheby Delores Brown finds herself far away from where she thought she'd be near the age of eighteen: sold to the owner of the Lapier Jail in Richmond, Virginia. As a mixed race woman, she is hand-picked and forced to become his mistress and bear his children, a choice she must make to survive, even though said jailer is notoriously known for his extreme brutal torture methods. Her eighteenth birthday didn't bring her the freedom she was guaranteed, but instead the complete opposite, and the sacrifices she must make for those she loves most.
☆My Thoughts:
This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is an absolute must-read. While fiction, many aspects of Yellow Wife are based on real-life people and events, which are detailed in the author's note at the end.
What makes Yellow Wife more unique in comparison to other books on slavery is the emphasis on the multiracial experience. Pheby, born to a Black mother and a white father, understands she has more privilege than most in the pre-Civil War south, especially as an educated woman. It is an impossibly difficult line to navigate, wanting to be seen as white and "better than" (< what I truly think of that 💩), and not as a slave that can be used in whatever manner deemed necessary by a white man. Pheby quickly learns that in the end, none of it matters–she is just as much a slave as the people inside the jail, and no one is safe.
The entirety of this book is completely heart-wrenching 💔 Lapier's methods of breaking his prisoners is not glossed over, and every new scene builds on his inhumane cruelty. I absolutely cried during my read–Pheby's circumstances and the choices she had to make as a mother ate up my soul. It is a huge testament to Johnson's writing that with all this in mind, I could not put the book down. I encourage all who read not to give up, but to endure, just as Pheby had in her pursuit for survival.
* ゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜*
Pre-review:
The House of Eve by this author was such a necessary read, I can only imagine this will be as well. AND the stunning Vivian 5-starred it too?? Praise the Libby goddesses for sending this my way super fast!! 👏🏼
✎𓂃 “You are only a slave in name. Never in your mind.”
One of the most deserving 5 stars I’ve ever handed out! 🌟
☆What to Expect:
Pheby Delores Brown finds herself far away from where she thought she'd be near the age of eighteen: sold to the owner of the Lapier Jail in Richmond, Virginia. As a mixed race woman, she is hand-picked and forced to become his mistress and bear his children, a choice she must make to survive, even though said jailer is notoriously known for his extreme brutal torture methods. Her eighteenth birthday didn't bring her the freedom she was guaranteed, but instead the complete opposite, and the sacrifices she must make for those she loves most.
☆My Thoughts:
This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is an absolute must-read. While fiction, many aspects of Yellow Wife are based on real-life people and events, which are detailed in the author's note at the end.
What makes Yellow Wife more unique in comparison to other books on slavery is the emphasis on the multiracial experience. Pheby, born to a Black mother and a white father, understands she has more privilege than most in the pre-Civil War south, especially as an educated woman. It is an impossibly difficult line to navigate, wanting to be seen as white and "better than" (< what I truly think of that 💩), and not as a slave that can be used in whatever manner deemed necessary by a white man. Pheby quickly learns that in the end, none of it matters–she is just as much a slave as the people inside the jail, and no one is safe.
The entirety of this book is completely heart-wrenching 💔 Lapier's methods of breaking his prisoners is not glossed over, and every new scene builds on his inhumane cruelty. I absolutely cried during my read–Pheby's circumstances and the choices she had to make as a mother ate up my soul. It is a huge testament to Johnson's writing that with all this in mind, I could not put the book down. I encourage all who read not to give up, but to endure, just as Pheby had in her pursuit for survival.
* ゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜*
Pre-review:
The House of Eve by this author was such a necessary read, I can only imagine this will be as well. AND the stunning Vivian 5-starred it too?? Praise the Libby goddesses for sending this my way super fast!! 👏🏼
December 30, 2020
A beautifully written historical fiction set mostly in Virginia 1850. This one touches on so many raw emotions ....love, hate, resentment, fright, loss, family whether it be conventional or not. Well researched and fast moving storyline that tells such a deep emotional story of the slaves and being sold, separated from everything they ever knew and how loved ones are lost due to nobody simply caring. Pheby's story is one that will stay with you for a long time. If you liked the Kitchen House this one is for you. I highly recommend it.
April 30, 2021
It's so very hard to think that people in our past sold other people into slavery. Slavery ranks up there as a heinous awful crime against humanity and in the story of Yellow Wife, we do once again come to see, relive, and understand what happened those years ago to so many.
Pheby Delores Brown, a young mulatto girl is beautiful and she has been promised her freedom which she longs for. However, fate intervenes, as Pheby's mother and her plantation wealthy father, Master Jacob, take a path that leads to heartbreak and tragedy. after Jacob's sister's death, Jacob, takes on a new bride, a vicious woman who hates people of color and takes out her revenge on Pheby, for having been educated and taught the piano by Master Jacob's sister, Miss Sally. It burns within her that Pheby is Jacob's daughter and she plots at every turn to make Pheby's life miserable and painful.
As her hatred for Pheby escalates, Pheby becomes more and more attracted to Essex Henry, a stable hand, who wins Pheby's heart. Tragedy arrives when Pheby is sent to Lapier Jail located in Richmond, Virginia. There, the cruel master, of the jail, Lapier, is attracted to Pheby and instead of seeing her sold buys her. Unbeknownst to Pheby or Lapier, Pheby is pregnant by Essex who had escaped up North swearing he would come back to her. Pheby gives birth to a boy who she names Monroe. After Monroe's birth, Pheby's new quarters are in the home of Lapier. She is now his yellow wife and there becomes a slave to his whims and sexual desires. She acquiesces to all he wants for Lapier swears he will never separate her from Monroe.
Over the years, Pheby gives birth to five children, but there is always the fear of Lapier and his disdain for Monroe. Lapier keeps them apart and uses Monroe as a bargaining chip with the thought of selling him circling always. Pheby is a noble character, always putting the needs of her children before those of herself, always remembering the love she shared with Essex, so when Essex comes once again into her life, she makes the ultimate sacrifice.
This was a most entertaining and well researched story as the character of Pheby is based on a woman named Mary Lumpkin. The setting is reflective of the Lumpkin Jail in Richmond. This most riveting story exposed once again the hideous way in which slaves were treated. The scenes that were seen and heard at the jail were awful and exposed such cruelty that it broke my heart. It was gruesome and yet this story needs to be told and remembered for once in our country people were sold, people were chained, and people were treated like dogs at the hands of cruel and inhuman masters.
A definite recommendation for this wonderful historical fiction.
Pheby Delores Brown, a young mulatto girl is beautiful and she has been promised her freedom which she longs for. However, fate intervenes, as Pheby's mother and her plantation wealthy father, Master Jacob, take a path that leads to heartbreak and tragedy. after Jacob's sister's death, Jacob, takes on a new bride, a vicious woman who hates people of color and takes out her revenge on Pheby, for having been educated and taught the piano by Master Jacob's sister, Miss Sally. It burns within her that Pheby is Jacob's daughter and she plots at every turn to make Pheby's life miserable and painful.
As her hatred for Pheby escalates, Pheby becomes more and more attracted to Essex Henry, a stable hand, who wins Pheby's heart. Tragedy arrives when Pheby is sent to Lapier Jail located in Richmond, Virginia. There, the cruel master, of the jail, Lapier, is attracted to Pheby and instead of seeing her sold buys her. Unbeknownst to Pheby or Lapier, Pheby is pregnant by Essex who had escaped up North swearing he would come back to her. Pheby gives birth to a boy who she names Monroe. After Monroe's birth, Pheby's new quarters are in the home of Lapier. She is now his yellow wife and there becomes a slave to his whims and sexual desires. She acquiesces to all he wants for Lapier swears he will never separate her from Monroe.
Over the years, Pheby gives birth to five children, but there is always the fear of Lapier and his disdain for Monroe. Lapier keeps them apart and uses Monroe as a bargaining chip with the thought of selling him circling always. Pheby is a noble character, always putting the needs of her children before those of herself, always remembering the love she shared with Essex, so when Essex comes once again into her life, she makes the ultimate sacrifice.
This was a most entertaining and well researched story as the character of Pheby is based on a woman named Mary Lumpkin. The setting is reflective of the Lumpkin Jail in Richmond. This most riveting story exposed once again the hideous way in which slaves were treated. The scenes that were seen and heard at the jail were awful and exposed such cruelty that it broke my heart. It was gruesome and yet this story needs to be told and remembered for once in our country people were sold, people were chained, and people were treated like dogs at the hands of cruel and inhuman masters.
A definite recommendation for this wonderful historical fiction.
June 8, 2022
4.5 ⭐
A page-turner!
Yellow Wife is 1850s historical fiction that flows like a thriller. We follow Pheby's journey from Bell plantation where she was born to a different life at one of the largest and most notorious slave holding facilities in Virginia.
There's so much tragedy in this book, but what kept me glued were the characters. The author did not hold back on how the enslaved were punished.
In the author's note, Pheby's character was inspired by Mary Lumpkin. The jail in the story is of Robert Lumpkin's Jail in Richmond, VA.
Contains graphic content, cruelty, and torture.
A page-turner!
Yellow Wife is 1850s historical fiction that flows like a thriller. We follow Pheby's journey from Bell plantation where she was born to a different life at one of the largest and most notorious slave holding facilities in Virginia.
There's so much tragedy in this book, but what kept me glued were the characters. The author did not hold back on how the enslaved were punished.
In the author's note, Pheby's character was inspired by Mary Lumpkin. The jail in the story is of Robert Lumpkin's Jail in Richmond, VA.
Contains graphic content, cruelty, and torture.
March 31, 2021
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson was one of the best books about slavery and the South that I have read in a long time. Sadeqa Johnson wrote about an aspect of slavery that I had no knowledge about before reading her well written, riveting, harrowing and heartbreaking novel, Yellow Wife. It was hard to pull myself away from this book. It was fast paced and thought provoking. Some parts were hard to listen to. Sadeqa Johnson’s vivid and detailed descriptions of the cruelties many slaves were meant to endure were so graphically described I had a hard time listening to those parts. Yellow Wife filled itself with strong female characters that were well developed, complex and believable. The author based her novel, Yellow Wife, loosely on the actual lives of Mary and Robert Lumpkin and The Lumpkin Jail located in Richmond, Virginia. Lumpkin Jail was actually in existence from 1830 through The Civil War. It’s existence made me shudder in disgust to think how such a place was allowed to exist. The feelings and practices of racism were deeply rooted to that time in American history. It is sad to admit that racism still exists today. Although strides have been made to eliminate its existence there is still much work to be done to eliminate it altogether. I listened to the audiobook on Overdrive. It was brilliantly narrated by Robin Miles.
Pheby Delores Brown, a mulatto slave, was the offspring of the master of The Bell Plantation and Pheby’s mother, the medicine woman of the plantation. The master had a soft spot in his heart for both Pheby’s mother and for Pheby. While the master’s sister lived in the big house, she encouraged and taught Pheby to read, write and play the piano. The master of Bell Plantation had promised Pheby her freedom when she turned eighteen years old. Her true love, Essex Henry, a young slave who took care of the horses on Bell Plantation, had professed his love to Pheby. They tried to imagine their life together once Pheby was freed and Essex bought himself his freedom from the master or ran away. Pheby lived a coddled life until the master’s sister suddenly died. The master had taken a new wife and she took an immediate dislike to Pheby. The master’s new wife tried to make Pheby’s life as hard as she could. When the master decided he had to leave the plantation for business, he informed his wife. Being near the end of her pregnancy she was not pleased. When his wife found out that Pheby’s mother would accompany her husband on this trip instead of her she was livid. The result of that trip would alter Pheby’s life drastically. Upon the return of the master and Pheby’s mother, there was a terrible accident. The master and Pheby’s mother were both tragically injured. Pheby lost her mother to that accident. Her mother never recovered from the injuries she endured and Pheby was forced to bury her mother. During the funeral, Pheby discovered the fate the master’s wife wished for her to endure. Pheby had been sold to slave traders. The master’s new wife wanted Pheby to live the life of a whore. Pheby was dragged away from the only life she had ever known.
After days of travel, Pheby discovered her final destination was to be a place called the Devil’s Half Acre. It was a jail that held the enslaved. Many of its inhabitants were either tortured, broken, held, detained or sold in auction. The conditions of the jail were subhuman. It was owned and run by Rubin Lapier, whom many referred to as the “Bully Trader” behind his back. Rubin’s reputation of being cruel, being a bully, having no scruples and for his brutal punishments were known by all. Pheby was pushed onto the auction block after having survived her night in the jail. She had just witnessed the slave in front of her being made to stand naked before the potential buyers. When Pheby was ordered to strip her clothing from her body, she outright refused. Luckily, Rubin Lapier, chose that exact moment to enter the auction block. He rescued Pheby from this fate but would the fate that lie ahead of her prove to be better? Pheby would come to realize that she would do whatever she had to do to survive and protect the ones she loved most. Would she be able to do that?
Yellow Wife depicted the horrors and cruelty of slave trading. These acts and violations must be realized and not forgotten. Mankind must learn to respect and find good in each other. This book was a difficult yet crucial read. I still find myself thinking about the characters in Yellow Wife and Pheby in particular. I admired her for her strength, resilient ways, fight, and loyalty to those she loved and what she believed in. Yellow Wife was a beautifully written and well researched historical fiction novel that I am so glad I had the opportunity to read. Although this was the first book I have read by Sadeqa Johnson it will not be my last. I highly recommend this book.
Pheby Delores Brown, a mulatto slave, was the offspring of the master of The Bell Plantation and Pheby’s mother, the medicine woman of the plantation. The master had a soft spot in his heart for both Pheby’s mother and for Pheby. While the master’s sister lived in the big house, she encouraged and taught Pheby to read, write and play the piano. The master of Bell Plantation had promised Pheby her freedom when she turned eighteen years old. Her true love, Essex Henry, a young slave who took care of the horses on Bell Plantation, had professed his love to Pheby. They tried to imagine their life together once Pheby was freed and Essex bought himself his freedom from the master or ran away. Pheby lived a coddled life until the master’s sister suddenly died. The master had taken a new wife and she took an immediate dislike to Pheby. The master’s new wife tried to make Pheby’s life as hard as she could. When the master decided he had to leave the plantation for business, he informed his wife. Being near the end of her pregnancy she was not pleased. When his wife found out that Pheby’s mother would accompany her husband on this trip instead of her she was livid. The result of that trip would alter Pheby’s life drastically. Upon the return of the master and Pheby’s mother, there was a terrible accident. The master and Pheby’s mother were both tragically injured. Pheby lost her mother to that accident. Her mother never recovered from the injuries she endured and Pheby was forced to bury her mother. During the funeral, Pheby discovered the fate the master’s wife wished for her to endure. Pheby had been sold to slave traders. The master’s new wife wanted Pheby to live the life of a whore. Pheby was dragged away from the only life she had ever known.
After days of travel, Pheby discovered her final destination was to be a place called the Devil’s Half Acre. It was a jail that held the enslaved. Many of its inhabitants were either tortured, broken, held, detained or sold in auction. The conditions of the jail were subhuman. It was owned and run by Rubin Lapier, whom many referred to as the “Bully Trader” behind his back. Rubin’s reputation of being cruel, being a bully, having no scruples and for his brutal punishments were known by all. Pheby was pushed onto the auction block after having survived her night in the jail. She had just witnessed the slave in front of her being made to stand naked before the potential buyers. When Pheby was ordered to strip her clothing from her body, she outright refused. Luckily, Rubin Lapier, chose that exact moment to enter the auction block. He rescued Pheby from this fate but would the fate that lie ahead of her prove to be better? Pheby would come to realize that she would do whatever she had to do to survive and protect the ones she loved most. Would she be able to do that?
Yellow Wife depicted the horrors and cruelty of slave trading. These acts and violations must be realized and not forgotten. Mankind must learn to respect and find good in each other. This book was a difficult yet crucial read. I still find myself thinking about the characters in Yellow Wife and Pheby in particular. I admired her for her strength, resilient ways, fight, and loyalty to those she loved and what she believed in. Yellow Wife was a beautifully written and well researched historical fiction novel that I am so glad I had the opportunity to read. Although this was the first book I have read by Sadeqa Johnson it will not be my last. I highly recommend this book.
October 19, 2024
4.5/5 ⭐️
- This book was everything and more!! Was so close to rating this 5 stars because the story and information is so deep while still keeping me engaged from start to finish. Love that this book included not only the hardships, but the small moments of joy and love that you don’t often see in these historical events.
- Fell in love with so many of the characters within this story and didn’t want to put this book down! If you’re new to historical fiction, this is a great book to read because there is so much depth, but the text is easy to read. I really felt as if I were there with them!
- So excited to read House of Eve by this author! If it’s anything like this book, I know I’ll love it. I still can’t believe this book was based on true characters. Such an incredible story.
- This book was everything and more!! Was so close to rating this 5 stars because the story and information is so deep while still keeping me engaged from start to finish. Love that this book included not only the hardships, but the small moments of joy and love that you don’t often see in these historical events.
- Fell in love with so many of the characters within this story and didn’t want to put this book down! If you’re new to historical fiction, this is a great book to read because there is so much depth, but the text is easy to read. I really felt as if I were there with them!
- So excited to read House of Eve by this author! If it’s anything like this book, I know I’ll love it. I still can’t believe this book was based on true characters. Such an incredible story.
October 29, 2025
All the stars. The audiobook narration fit the book perfectly. I was captivated by the storytelling. The way the author made this story come to life was breathtaking. Thank you for telling Pheby’s story.
June 9, 2024
Unbreak my heart
This is one of those books that when I ever think about it, i will always remember where i was when i read it and remember every emotion and angst I felt while reading it.
Yellow Wife is set in the 1850s following Pheby Delores Brown who is an enslaved mixed race girl who is promised by her owner (who is also her biological father) that she will be freed when she turns 18. This does not turn out to be case, and instead Pheby is subjected to a torturous life at the infamous Devil's Half Acre in Virginia. The slaves are sold, tortured and abused there everyday.
Pheby is forced to become the mistress of the owner known as the Jailer. Through strength, resilience and smarts Pheby must try to find a way to still get her freedom but will she make it and what will she have to sacrifice to get it?
Firstly this is a very uncomfortable but necessary read. It was impossible to keep a dry eye with this harrowing, heartbreaking book.
Pheby is one heck of a woman. She is a survivor who endured so many harsh abuse and brutal tragedies. I was rooting so hard for her from the get go and kept flipping the pages praying for a 'happy ending' (or as good as it could possibly be for a black woman in those times)
Like most of the Historical Fiction books i have read, the books always emotionally challenges me because they feel so real and in this case, the author has said most of the things that happened in the book is loosely based on real women's experiences.
The graphic detail in how the slaves were tortured is one that will not be erased from my mind ever. I physically had to fight with myself to not to put the book down to have a break because i didn't want to leave these fictional characters alone.
This book held my attention to the last pages and ended in my opinion, very realistically. Would i have wanted a different outcome? Of course, but so is the hard facts of reality.
This was a very informative book that i would urge everyone to read at least once.
Sadeqa Johnson i salute you and can not wait to read your WHOLE backlist 💛
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
In the mood for some Historical Fiction!!
The gorgeous Vivian and Courtney have both rated this one 5⭐
So i know I'm in for a phenomenal read 💛💛
This is one of those books that when I ever think about it, i will always remember where i was when i read it and remember every emotion and angst I felt while reading it.
Yellow Wife is set in the 1850s following Pheby Delores Brown who is an enslaved mixed race girl who is promised by her owner (who is also her biological father) that she will be freed when she turns 18. This does not turn out to be case, and instead Pheby is subjected to a torturous life at the infamous Devil's Half Acre in Virginia. The slaves are sold, tortured and abused there everyday.
Pheby is forced to become the mistress of the owner known as the Jailer. Through strength, resilience and smarts Pheby must try to find a way to still get her freedom but will she make it and what will she have to sacrifice to get it?
Firstly this is a very uncomfortable but necessary read. It was impossible to keep a dry eye with this harrowing, heartbreaking book.
Pheby is one heck of a woman. She is a survivor who endured so many harsh abuse and brutal tragedies. I was rooting so hard for her from the get go and kept flipping the pages praying for a 'happy ending' (or as good as it could possibly be for a black woman in those times)
Like most of the Historical Fiction books i have read, the books always emotionally challenges me because they feel so real and in this case, the author has said most of the things that happened in the book is loosely based on real women's experiences.
The graphic detail in how the slaves were tortured is one that will not be erased from my mind ever. I physically had to fight with myself to not to put the book down to have a break because i didn't want to leave these fictional characters alone.
This book held my attention to the last pages and ended in my opinion, very realistically. Would i have wanted a different outcome? Of course, but so is the hard facts of reality.
This was a very informative book that i would urge everyone to read at least once.
Sadeqa Johnson i salute you and can not wait to read your WHOLE backlist 💛
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
In the mood for some Historical Fiction!!
The gorgeous Vivian and Courtney have both rated this one 5⭐
So i know I'm in for a phenomenal read 💛💛
January 6, 2021
I'm finding it impossible to stop thinking about this book! Pheby's story has had a firm grip on my heart from its opening lines and it seems to have no intention of letting me go.
At seventeen, she was unprepared for what life had in store for her. Born a slave, she was raised to never believe herself to be one and by comparison, she was shown to be several steps above. When tragedy strikes, everything she knew, every bit of safety she ever felt, was suddenly ripped away and Pheby learned quick what it was to have absolutely no rights and no freedoms. To have every move dictated, to have every thought deemed unworthy, to have no control over her own body. She learned though. She found ways to survive, to adapt, to thrive. And when given the chance, despite the many times she almost lost hope, she gave her all and proved what she was willing to sacrifice for love.
One of the things I loved most about this story was how raw it felt. It gutted me, flayed me wide open, scattered my feels all over the place. As a black woman, I can never truly imagine the horrors that my people faced during slavery. So much of what they experienced is lost. And although we live in times that are far better than what existed then, we're not on equal footing. Racism still exists and it oozed through the pages of this book. The hatred, the ignorance, the hypocrisy... all of it was tempered by the faith and pride of Pheby and the people she cared about. While these characters were constantly on edge, they found love and hope and freedom amongst themselves. It was beautiful and had an almost poetic quality to it.
I wavered on giving this book all of the stars simply because I wasn't satisfied with the ending. But then I realized that I probably wouldn't have been satisfied if the author had gifted us with some grandiose version of a romantic happily ever after either. I'd probably be pissed, to be honest. There was nothing pretty to be found during those times, but the author found a way to highlight the profound beauty that couldn't be defeated. And for that... all the stars!!
For this review and more...
At seventeen, she was unprepared for what life had in store for her. Born a slave, she was raised to never believe herself to be one and by comparison, she was shown to be several steps above. When tragedy strikes, everything she knew, every bit of safety she ever felt, was suddenly ripped away and Pheby learned quick what it was to have absolutely no rights and no freedoms. To have every move dictated, to have every thought deemed unworthy, to have no control over her own body. She learned though. She found ways to survive, to adapt, to thrive. And when given the chance, despite the many times she almost lost hope, she gave her all and proved what she was willing to sacrifice for love.
One of the things I loved most about this story was how raw it felt. It gutted me, flayed me wide open, scattered my feels all over the place. As a black woman, I can never truly imagine the horrors that my people faced during slavery. So much of what they experienced is lost. And although we live in times that are far better than what existed then, we're not on equal footing. Racism still exists and it oozed through the pages of this book. The hatred, the ignorance, the hypocrisy... all of it was tempered by the faith and pride of Pheby and the people she cared about. While these characters were constantly on edge, they found love and hope and freedom amongst themselves. It was beautiful and had an almost poetic quality to it.
I wavered on giving this book all of the stars simply because I wasn't satisfied with the ending. But then I realized that I probably wouldn't have been satisfied if the author had gifted us with some grandiose version of a romantic happily ever after either. I'd probably be pissed, to be honest. There was nothing pretty to be found during those times, but the author found a way to highlight the profound beauty that couldn't be defeated. And for that... all the stars!!
For this review and more...
June 29, 2022
3.5 Stars
A heart-breaking and thought provoking novel and I enjoyed the angle the author took in her telling of this story.
This is my first novel by Sadeqa Johnson and it didn't disappoint. Its a well written, engaging, thought provoking and an emotional read.
Born on a plantation in Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. Promised freedom on her 18th birthday, she is unexpectedly finds herself a slave at the infamous Devil's Half Acre, a jail in Richmond where she watches and endures the jailers Cruelty.
Any novel that encourages a reader to pause and think about a time in history that we need constant reminding of, in my opinion, is a book worth reading. Yellow wife really gives the reader a glimpse into a shameful time in our world's history.
I probably would have rated this book 4 stars had I not preferred books like the Someone Knows My Name
and
The Kitchen House. I also had an issue with some modern words in the book that I am not sure fitted with the time.
However a great read and a book that I will remember a long time from now.
I think this would make an interesting book club read and I was delighted to see a reading group guide included at the end.
A heart-breaking and thought provoking novel and I enjoyed the angle the author took in her telling of this story.
This is my first novel by Sadeqa Johnson and it didn't disappoint. Its a well written, engaging, thought provoking and an emotional read.
Born on a plantation in Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. Promised freedom on her 18th birthday, she is unexpectedly finds herself a slave at the infamous Devil's Half Acre, a jail in Richmond where she watches and endures the jailers Cruelty.
Any novel that encourages a reader to pause and think about a time in history that we need constant reminding of, in my opinion, is a book worth reading. Yellow wife really gives the reader a glimpse into a shameful time in our world's history.
I probably would have rated this book 4 stars had I not preferred books like the Someone Knows My Name
and
The Kitchen House. I also had an issue with some modern words in the book that I am not sure fitted with the time. However a great read and a book that I will remember a long time from now.
I think this would make an interesting book club read and I was delighted to see a reading group guide included at the end.
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