In the vein of The Personal Librarian and The House of Eve, a “remarkable and stirring novel” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) based on the inspiring true story of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and the indomitable Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States.
Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achieve the same.
With her single-minded determination, Maggie buckled down and went from schoolteacher to secretary-treasurer of the Independent Order of St. Luke, founder of a newspaper, a bank, and a department store where Black customers were treated with respect. With the help of influential friends like W.E.B. DuBois and Mary McLeod, she revolutionized Richmond in ways that are still felt today. Now, “with rich period detail and emotional impact” (Tracey Enerson Wood, author of The Engineer’s Wife), her riveting full story is finally revealed in this stirring and intimate novel.
Unfortunately was very disappointed with this one :( Everything in here SOUNDS interesting: Maggie Walker is a headstrong civil activist intent on raising up her community from the inside, but the writing is just. so. simple. I feel like the whole thing is a first draft where they were desperately trying to put something on paper, then they would get to the emotion and detail of the scenes later.
Except they never got to it later, they just publishing the plot points.
I didn't really feel a single emotion out of this. The descriptions were all flat, and I felt like someone was just telling me a list of things that happened rather than being in the moment of what this woman did and accomplished. It was all "I felt joy." "I knew I had to be strong." "I felt so angry." It's telling everything and showing me very, very little. Everything is so surface level, I'm so sad it didn't suck me in, because this definitely seems like a life that deserves more credit than she currently has.
A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P Watson is an amazing book about a strong black woman, Maggie Walker, who did so much for African Americans and bring awareness to equality. She started as a shopkeeper. When shoved out and forced to close she became the first black woman in banking in 1890s. She refused to take no for answer. You can’t do it. She smashed that racist mentality as well. Despite the threats, violence and everything else that came her way she never gave up. She thrived!
I've never heard of Maggie Lena Walker, but she was an incredible woman. She was the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States....She did this in the 1890's. Her community of Jackson Ward, Virginia became one of many Black Wall Streets. Black Wall Streets are community in which every business is Black owned. All these communities suffered violence from whites, who despite treating Black people like dirt under their shoes rely on Black money to survive. White people get extremely dangerous when "the under class" makes progress....I mean why do you think we got Trump immediately after the first Black president?
Maggie Walker was truly a woman ahead of her time and more people should know about her. Already very little Black history is taught and unfortunately the Republicans want to stop even that tiny bit of history from being taught. If we don't stand up against the Fascist, 20 years from now kids won't even be taught about Martin Luther King and they won't know that slavery was actually a bad thing.
A Right Worthy Woman is an important book but it wasn't great. I think one of two things would have improved it.
1. This book needed to be longer 2. The time period covered in the book should have been shortened
A Right Worthy Woman covers her whole life and it felt at times like we were rushing through very important events to get to the next event. I didn't feel like I had an connection to her. She had an amazing life but this really felt like the cliff notes edition of things. Overall I do recommend this book because I was able to discover this amazing woman and now I'm learning more things about this great American.
I love how historical fiction introduces us to hidden figures, such as Maggie Lee Walker in this book. She was a passionate and selfless woman who spent her life trying to make life better for the African Americans that lived in Jackson Ward in Virginia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She was the first black woman to run a bank but that is not her only accomplishment. The author takes us on an amazing journey of Maggie's life from her childhood and learning how to run a successful laundry business from her mom after her father passed away to getting her teaching degree to establishing and running a bank, emporium and newspaper in Jackson Ward. Maggie never let a 'no' stop her and never let someone else tell her what she could or could not do for her family or community. I could go on and on, but I would rather you go and read this wonderful book and learn for yourself what an inspiration Maggie Walker was in this book.
Thank you Atria Books and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance reader copy of A Right Worthy Woman in exchange for a fair review. This review will appear immediately on Goodreads. Bringing into the spotlight another strong but likely unknown trailblazer, Watson introduces us to Maggie Lena Walker, who essentially was a community leader in a multitude of ways - creating the first black run bank in the United States. Living in a confederate state not long after the end of the civil war, black Americans struggled to get ahead having little access to fair stores, banking and businesses. Walker, who was decended from a freed slave and a white northern man, used her smarts and prowess for business to stand up for her community and help create a bank in the Jim Crow era. Her story is remarkable and one we should know about. She has lived an interesting and sometimes shocking life. Watson tells the story in a way where the reader is drawn in quickly and wants to follow Maggie's story through. I think this would be a fine book club pick. The story does have some trigger warnings, especially in the treatment of black people in the south during Jim Crow, however it is otherwise clean wth no language or terribly graphic violence. I will recommend it to patrons. 4*
The phrase "Can't nobody take my pride, can't nobody hold me down, oh no I got to keep on moving. When I hear these lyrics I think of Maggie Lena Walker. This woman perservered making sure she fought for the rights of African American people. She showed them that if we spend our money in our community we would flourish. I'm so happy I read this book. I heard about the St Luke Penny Savings Bank from visiting the Smithsonian in DC and saw the picture of Ms Walker. I was so curious to learn more about her. The author's writing was very good. I imagined myself at the St Luke Order meetings watching Ms Walker in action. If you're a fan of historical fiction as I am. You would definately enjoy this book and learn so much about Ms. Maggie Lena Walker. Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing book.
Ruth P. Watson introduces us to Maggie Lena Walker in "A Right Worthy Woman"—a historical figure who somehow slipped through the cracks of our collective memory despite her remarkable achievements. The discovery of Walker's journey from humble beginnings to becoming a banking pioneer for her community marks her as genuinely inspiring, a woman whose contributions deserve greater recognition in our historical consciousness.
What resonated most powerfully were the glimpses into Walker's family life and personal relationships. Her love story had me genuinely swooning at moments, while her losses cut deep—Watson captures these emotional touchpoints with an authenticity that made me feel connected to Walker as a woman, not merely as a historical icon.
The book reads more like a fictional memoir than traditional historical fiction—a narrative choice that proves both strength and limitation. This approach offers intimate access to Walker's thoughts and experiences, yet simultaneously creates significant pacing issues. I found myself struggling through middle sections where day-to-day minutiae received the same weight as landmark achievements, creating a dragging sensation that tested my engagement.
Watson's writing style remains direct and straightforward throughout—effective for conveying information but rarely reaching for the poetic heights or emotional complexity that might have elevated the story.
While I appreciate the introduction to this remarkable woman who made a genuine difference in her community, the storytelling approach ultimately kept me at arm's length from fully immersing in her world. "A Right Worthy Woman" succeeds as an informative tribute but falls short of the transcendent reading experience.
Heartfelt thanks to Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for my gifted book.
Maggie Lena Walker was a remarkable person, and I'm glad that Watson found her story and wanted to share it. That being said, I ended up skimming this more than anything, because the writing style just didn't really work for me. As other reviewers have noted, it read like a first draft, disjointed, scattered, inconsistent. I have no doubt that Watson is a skilled researcher and even author but I think this particular format especially didn't suit the story; it would have made more sense as a nonfiction, perhaps even a middle-grade style of biography. I found the focus on sexual content especially jarring. I'm all for it in a romance (obvs) or even in a book that is going to examine a character's relationship with/to sex, but this felt inconsequential to and out of place with Maggie's larger story, included without intention, and a bit awkward.
See full review on "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" website:
Maggie Walker was the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first female in the United States to own a bank — one of few to survive the Great Depression. Born in Virginia one year before the end of the Civil War, Walker smashed every barrier constraining Black women in the Jim Crow South. Her extensive contributions to the formation of Richmond’s “Black Wall Street” are brought to vivid life in “A Right Worthy Woman,” Ruth P. Watson’s luminous work of historical fiction chronicling the trailblazer’s life.
It’s impossible not to admire a person as indomitable as Maggie Lena Mitchell Walker. Watson enlivens this powerful leader who came to be known as “the race woman” in a narrative that opens in 1876 when Walker is 12 years old. In an era when “colored girls were not to speak without being spoken to,” Walker boldly asks her mother’s boss how she, too, can become rich...
Maggie Lena Walker was a force of nature. What she accomplished in her lifetime is awe inspiring. Ruth P Watson does an amazing job getting Maggie’s life onto paper. I was a bit worried as I have gotten a bit lost in the past when books have delved into histories surrounding banking and finances but Watson has laid it out clearly, getting across the brilliance Maggie had while not losing the reader. This book follows Maggie and her family from the end of the Civil War as she works to rise her family and the black community of Jackson Ward in Richmond Virginia,above the laws and prejudices placed on them by the government and the white community. She went on to be the first African American woman to charter a bank, which is the tip of the iceberg of her accomplishments. An informative and fascinating work of historical fiction. Releasing on June 12 2023 I definitely recommend picking up this one. Thank you to Netgallery and Atria Books for providing me a copy of this book for review
Maggie Lena Walker certainly deserves her own book. I had never heard of her before, but thanks to this author, I appreciate all she accomplished despite the constant challenges thrown her way. The historical figure of Maggie Walker was a right worthy woman, indeed.
Maggie Lena Walker was the first African-American woman to have founded and presided over a bank in the United States of America. In this historical novel, Maggie was the daughter of a laundress, who was once a former slave. Maggie originally became a teacher. However, she was forced to quit her job when she became engaged. After she married, Maggie joined the Order of St. Luke. Under the order, she would establish a newspaper company, shops, and even a bank.
I admit I had never heard of Maggie Lena Walker before I read this book. After reading A Right Worthy Woman, I came away with much admiration, awe, and respect for her. In this novel, Maggie worked tirelessly to help her African-American community, especially women. She was not only an entrepreneur, but she was also a Civil Rights activist and fought for the women’s suffrage movement. She believed in equality not only between races but also between genders. She believed that women should have rights as men. I also liked how she viewed marriage to be equal. I also admired her faith and devotion to God because she believed she was doing God’s work on Earth. Therefore, Maggie is a very strong woman who deserved respect. She never let any of her personal hardships get the best of her and continued to help improve the well-being of others.
Overall, this novel is about social justice, faith, and family. I like how the author gave depth to each of her characters. My favorite character was Maggie’s husband, Armstead. Armstead was very supportive of Maggie in everything she did. It was clear that they had a loving, respectful, and happy marriage. A Right Worthy Woman is also very beautifully written, and I loved its gorgeous prose. The only thing I did not like about it was that it seemed rushed at times. Nevertheless, A Right Worthy Woman was a mesmerizing novel, and I couldn’t put it down! I am so glad to have discovered this little known but important figure, and it inspired me to do more research on Maggie Lena Walker! I recommend this for fans of By Her Own Design, Carolina Built, and The Great Mrs. Elias! A Right Worthy Woman is an extraordinary tribute to an overshadowed but noteworthy woman! (Note: I read an ARC copy of this book in courtesy of Netgalley.)
A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P Watson. Thanks to @atriapub for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maggie Lena Walker, daughter of a formerly enslaved woman, becomes the first black woman to preside over a bank in the United States.
This is a great historical fiction that is heavy on the history side. It can be a little slow at times but Maggie Lena Walker was an interesting character and I was curious how her life would turn out. I’m glad this book is out there because I had never heard of her but her name should be recognized. She got far and was a woman ahead of her time.
“Being with a woman of strong character could weaken an already weak man. It takes a strong man to partner with a strong woman.”
Ruth P Watson has brought to live the unsung Shero, Maggie Lena Walker! She was a woman determined to change the lives of other woman and those deprived of their human rights. In the Jim Crow South, she was the first African American woman to be the President of a bank that never failed. Masterfully done!! SBA
DNF. It was interested to read about Mrs. Walker, but I just couldn’t handle the disjointed, boring writing style. It’s written in first person, but I think it should have been in third person. I finished reading about Mrs. Walker in bios I found on Google and left the book unfinished.
Well written and easy to read. You felt like you were there at Maggie Walker's house watching everything happen. Makes me want to go walk around Jackson Ward and imagine everything in it's glory.
I really wanted to love this book. I had hoped it would be in the vein of The Personal Librarian. It had a good set up, premise, and main character. First Black woman banker and Black Wallstreet? Sounds fantastic. Unfortunately it was so much tell and not enough show. It feels like it needed several more rounds of developmental edits. I wish it lived up to the blurb.
I love reading historical fiction and I really enjoy when it’s centered in Richmond! I toured the Maggie Lena Walker house and museum recently and was looking forward to reading this book. Now I want to go back and do the tour again! Such a truly amazing woman and probably the most drive of any person I’ve ever read about!
A very big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. Watson in exchange for my honest review.
I am thankful that Ruth P. Watson felt it necessary to tell the story of Maggie Lena Walker. I would probably still be ignorant to all that she has accomplished and contributed to the advancement of Black people and women. She is yet another hidden figure whose story needs to be heard! What I enjoyed most about this book is that you can really tell the author did her research! There were plenty of times that I had to remind myself that this was a work of fiction because her life was filled with some high highs and very low lows that all of the information presented was very believable.
While I enjoyed reading about Maggie’s life there were a couple things that could be improved on for me to love the story. Because this is a bio historical fiction the story felt very repetitive at times. Nothing a little editing for a more seamless flow can’t fix. I also thought the story was a bit surface level. We got a lot of information on Maggie; however struggled with connecting with the characters because they felt a little flat.
Overall this was an intriguing read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction and reading about Black women doing the darn thing!
This was a very interesting and in depth read about Maggie Lena Walker. I had not heard of her before and this women was quite the trail blazer of her time. She defied all that told her no, or that she couldn't and really needs to be recognized for everything she did and changed for the better of her community and others during this time. With her mother having been a slave, Maggie knew she wanted better for herself and her children. Often going against what her mother tried to instill in her about being a hard worker and keeping your head down and out of trouble she asked questions, and pushed the boundaries with everything she did in life and often it proved to be successful for her. She quickly learned how to work hard like her mother, but how to also read people enough to know how hard to push someone, when no meant no and when she could just maybe get one more favor or ask. This novel follows Maggie through almost all of her life, and really gives a lot of details of all she did and accomplished and yet there is so much more that could be written about her. Maggie was a real hero and influence and needs to be placed among the others of that time who brought about changes for the better. Thank you to the author, publisher and Goodreads for the free novel. This review is of my own opinion and accord.