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Lost German Slave Girl - Extraordinary True Story Of Sally Miller And Her Fight For Freedom In Old New Orleans
The Extraordinary True Story Of Sally Miller And Her Fight For Freedom in Old New Orleans
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First published December 31, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 348 reviews
October 7, 2009
This historical non-fiction book is such an astonishing, convoluted story, that it seems more far-fetched and over-the-top than most historical fictions about the Old South - and therefore it comes out as a much more fascinating book than most novels about New Orleans. More than that, because of its subject matter, it is also a very serious study of slavery, that helps us understand how it worked, and shows us how inhuman it was - if we ever needed more proofs of that. Any author could write quite an entertaining book with the saga of Sally Miller and the incredible court battle that ensued over her identity (was this young woman, recognized by German immigrants in the streets of New Orleans, a white woman or a mulatto, and therefore was she a slave or not?) But Bailey possesses a number of gifts that make his work a first-class compulsive read. First, he's a very talented storyteller: he knows not only how to create suspense through a complicated legal case, but also how to write about New Orleans in a compelling way. Second, he's obviously knowledgeable about law and history, and he does convey all the ramifications of the different episodes he narrates without getting confusing, staying focused on what he's trying to demonstrate. Third, he's well aware that this bizarre tale can best be used as a way to introduce us to the different faces of slavery, and he does so with deep humanity, recreating with vivid details the brutal, unimaginable and horrifying world of slavery through the legal lens: the result is not only a richly satisfying page-turner, but also a complex meditation on the mindset of the South and on a society based on unjustifiable rules and principles. The twists of the story concerning the fate of the heroine also help Bailey approach slavery with unusual angles, and allow him to pinpoint some of the most outrageous aspects of the system that ruled the Southern states. It's hard not to be impressed - and not to be deeply moved by what the story of Sally Miller reveals to us.
June 27, 2022
This was a very interesting book about a missing German girl named Solemé Müller. Was the white colored slave woman on the street that looked like Solemé really her or someone who took advantage of the situation? This book goes over the history of Louisiana's slave laws, the lawsuit to free a white skinned slave who, though supposedly a Redemptioner, was turned slave when her father died while she was still very young, and the final outcome. Very interesting ending.
I highly recommend this book. I learned a lot about New Orleans, the hardships of immigrants at that time and slave laws. It's a fascinating read. "Truth is stranger than fiction. "
I highly recommend this book. I learned a lot about New Orleans, the hardships of immigrants at that time and slave laws. It's a fascinating read. "Truth is stranger than fiction. "
March 1, 2013
WOW! I will say that this book turned out to be a lot more interesting than I first expected. And by the time you get to the end... and the whole story comes together.... you are left with a smile and a "I'll be damned". A lot of these kind of books tend to lose a little interest as they get into court proceedings... NOT THIS ONE! It is just warming up. This is a EXTRAORDINARY story indeed. Even if you are not a fan of history or non fiction, this book is good for anyone. I never expected this book to be a "5 star" book when I started. I read the second half of the book in 2 days because I could not put it down. And at the end... my response was "WOW!"... I gotta say, I'm really surprised at all the 3 star ratings. I admit the beginning is a little hum drum, a lot of history on New Orleans and such. But this books reminds me of one of those movies you watch, where the whole time your wondering "what is going on"... then it all comes together at the end and you are left saying, "That was pretty cool".
June 3, 2015
I’ve been watching Texas Rising on the History Channel. I know it has historical inaccuracies in it, and I know there is a huge debate over the whole Yellow Rose aka Emily West story, but its good entertainment. I have to give it points for the acting and large amounts of male skin. But there are two more important reasons. The first is that while the show is definitely in the American camp, there is some attention paid to how the Mexicans would view the Americans. In fact, when one of Santa Ana’s officers kills a Team solider, it is hard not to sympathize when said officers tells the solider to get out of his country. The second reason is the character of Emily West. No doubt there is justice in claiming that she is many ways another stereotype of the beautiful temptress using her wiles to ensnare a man. But there are glimmers of something deeper. West isn’t motivated out of love of Houston or Texas, but out of desire of revenge for the killing of her brother. More importantly, several times she has called direct reference to her past as a slave. There is even a line where she says that as black woman she doesn’t have freedom in America (or what will be Texas). Her prayer when she asks for strength to do what needs to be done is some of the best writing in the series.
I thought of this while reading this book. Bailey looks closely at a case in New Orleans. The case occurred prior to the American Civil War and concern a woman who some people were convinced was a German immigrant enslaved. In this story, Bailey looks closely at what the laws regarding slaves and ownership were in New Orleans (pre and post purchase) as well as the case itself. The question is whether or not Sally Miller was a woman who had African blood in her veins. If the answer to this question was yes, than she would be a slave. If no, while than she wouldn’t be. The question of who Sally Miller was isn’t as easy to solve as you would think.
The only misstep that Bailey makes is when he is discussing the use of female slaves by their white male owners. Because of ownership (a slave woman couldn’t really say no; obviously), it is hard to see it as anything other than rape, at least by our modern terms. This could have been more directly worded, even in a chapter that was discussing how such “relations” were legally seen at the time. (And no, I am not taking about the concubines. I am talking about the enslaved women).
Perhaps the most horrifying aspects of this book are not the chapters detailing the trials of Sally Miller but those sections that detail the laws governing whether a child would or would not be freed along with his or her parents.
I thought of this while reading this book. Bailey looks closely at a case in New Orleans. The case occurred prior to the American Civil War and concern a woman who some people were convinced was a German immigrant enslaved. In this story, Bailey looks closely at what the laws regarding slaves and ownership were in New Orleans (pre and post purchase) as well as the case itself. The question is whether or not Sally Miller was a woman who had African blood in her veins. If the answer to this question was yes, than she would be a slave. If no, while than she wouldn’t be. The question of who Sally Miller was isn’t as easy to solve as you would think.
The only misstep that Bailey makes is when he is discussing the use of female slaves by their white male owners. Because of ownership (a slave woman couldn’t really say no; obviously), it is hard to see it as anything other than rape, at least by our modern terms. This could have been more directly worded, even in a chapter that was discussing how such “relations” were legally seen at the time. (And no, I am not taking about the concubines. I am talking about the enslaved women).
Perhaps the most horrifying aspects of this book are not the chapters detailing the trials of Sally Miller but those sections that detail the laws governing whether a child would or would not be freed along with his or her parents.
December 28, 2025
This book is about a legal case set in pre-Civil War New Orleans, a case which I had never heard of. This was the "Sally Miller" case, about a lost German immigrant girl who was believed to be enslaved. A true story, unbelievably enough, it was amazingly suspenseful and I couldn't go to sleep until I had finished it...
The story begins in New Orleans in 1843 as a German immigrant woman is walking down the street. She recognizes a face from her past. It's the face of Salome Mueller, a German child who disappeared twenty-five years earlier, the daughter of her good friend. But it turns out the young woman is an enslaved person, the property of a French cabaret owner. A legal case is initiated, supported by the German community of New Orleans, to free the young woman.
Author John Bailey gives us an investigative history that reads more like a suspense novel. His book is also an exploration of slavery and its laws as well as an unforgettable portrait of a young woman in pursuit of her freedom. AND it's a riveting courtroom drama. Bailey keeps you guessing right up to the end.
Definitely 5/5 stars.
The story begins in New Orleans in 1843 as a German immigrant woman is walking down the street. She recognizes a face from her past. It's the face of Salome Mueller, a German child who disappeared twenty-five years earlier, the daughter of her good friend. But it turns out the young woman is an enslaved person, the property of a French cabaret owner. A legal case is initiated, supported by the German community of New Orleans, to free the young woman.
Author John Bailey gives us an investigative history that reads more like a suspense novel. His book is also an exploration of slavery and its laws as well as an unforgettable portrait of a young woman in pursuit of her freedom. AND it's a riveting courtroom drama. Bailey keeps you guessing right up to the end.
Definitely 5/5 stars.
September 23, 2019
How could Sally Miller possibly imagine how much her life and future would change on a chance encounter in the spring of 1843. That is what happened when Madame Carl Rouff left her home in Lafayette on that bright morning and travelled across New Orleans to visit her friend in Fauborg Marigny. On her way, she noticed a woman—a slave—who bore a striking resemblance to her beloved friend, Dorothea Müller. But no, it couldn’t be for her friend died on board a ship heading to America. No, it wasn’t Dorothea, but perhaps her lost daughter, Salomé? Could it really be her after twenty-five years without a trace? Was Salomé Müller, the lost daughter of Daniel and Dorothea, finally found? And how could a woman of pure German ancestry be a slave? One chance meeting was about to set off a series of events that would eventually lead Sally Miller all the way to the Supreme Court of Louisiana in one woman’s historic fight for freedom.
In his Author’s Note, John Bailey said that he stumbled upon Sally Miller’s remarkable story while doing research on the laws of American slavery. The breadth of his research is thorough and extensive and he seems to have included everything he gleaned—the rights of slaves and their descendants, the founding of New Orleans, the plight of redemptioners—in his biography of Sally Miller (waste not, want not). On the cover of "The Lost German Slave Girl" is a quote from The Washington Post declaring, “Reads like a legal thriller.” Not quite. I would say this book comes closer to an immersive (and at times exhaustive) history of slavery in Old New Orleans in the early 19th century. The story does pick up at about 100 pages in (the book is 257 pages not counting the Endnotes) and has enough twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention; however, to get to this point in the story requires a healthy amount of tenacity and grit. Lovers of history and the law will find the abundance of information interesting, but unless you are deeply passionate about either topic, you’ll find the sheer amount of facts and details presented to be a bit to slog through.
Bailey does give readers plenty to think when sharing Sally’s story of freedom, perseverance, and faith. At this biography’s heart is a seemingly simple question: “What is it that binds one person to another?” Love? The law? A sense of duty? For Sally Miller, it was perhaps a little of each depending on her current stage of life. Her story is remarkable, extraordinary, and indeed deserves to be shared if for no other reason than to remind us to never stop fighting for what your heart desires most.
In his Author’s Note, John Bailey said that he stumbled upon Sally Miller’s remarkable story while doing research on the laws of American slavery. The breadth of his research is thorough and extensive and he seems to have included everything he gleaned—the rights of slaves and their descendants, the founding of New Orleans, the plight of redemptioners—in his biography of Sally Miller (waste not, want not). On the cover of "The Lost German Slave Girl" is a quote from The Washington Post declaring, “Reads like a legal thriller.” Not quite. I would say this book comes closer to an immersive (and at times exhaustive) history of slavery in Old New Orleans in the early 19th century. The story does pick up at about 100 pages in (the book is 257 pages not counting the Endnotes) and has enough twists and turns to keep the reader’s attention; however, to get to this point in the story requires a healthy amount of tenacity and grit. Lovers of history and the law will find the abundance of information interesting, but unless you are deeply passionate about either topic, you’ll find the sheer amount of facts and details presented to be a bit to slog through.
Bailey does give readers plenty to think when sharing Sally’s story of freedom, perseverance, and faith. At this biography’s heart is a seemingly simple question: “What is it that binds one person to another?” Love? The law? A sense of duty? For Sally Miller, it was perhaps a little of each depending on her current stage of life. Her story is remarkable, extraordinary, and indeed deserves to be shared if for no other reason than to remind us to never stop fighting for what your heart desires most.
August 24, 2014
This an exceptional book that provides a harrowing look into the practice of slavery in the United States, and particularly in Louisiana. Sally Miller was a slave who was identified by German immigrants to the United States as the daughter of a woman who died during the horrific passage to New Orleans from Germany. This identification came over 20 years after she and the remnants of her family disappeared after being sold into indentured servitude to pay off the cost of their passage to the United States. The author faithfully reconstructs a notorious and fascinating court case of the 1840s that determined whether Sally Miller was white, and therefore could not be held as a slave, or whether she was born a child of a slave and therefore condemned to live our her life in bondage.
March 19, 2009
A fascinating mystery which obsessed the city of New Orleans from 1843 until its shocking conclusion in 1849. Was Sally Miller, a young slave woman, really Salome Muller, an orphaned young German immigrant? Bailey’s retelling of the famous case is also rich in the history of the times, and a detailed history of the city of New Orleans. It does drag in some parts, but overall it's a very interesting read!
February 5, 2018
The Story of a German Girl who went missing for Twenty five years. The events all in the form of court documents of her life and other slaves in New Orleans . In the 1800's Sally Mueller was born and
no one was sure of her history. Sally was a curiosity of Louisana history.
no one was sure of her history. Sally was a curiosity of Louisana history.
December 18, 2016
Not the book I had envisioned. A lot of legalese. And I most heartily disagreed withe the author's final comment...
October 29, 2020
"The Lost German Slave Girl" - written by John Bailey and published in 2006 by Grove Press. Author Bailey has obviously put a tremendous amount of research effort into this book, with the result that it's an intriguing mystery and a mini-history of slavery in Louisiana. A driving force that impacted the area was King Cotton - "Cotton was an unstoppable economic force that had entrenched slavery into the way of the South." But this is not only a story of slavery, but of redemptioners. When Salome Muller and her family left Germany for better opportunities in the late 1840s, they became stranded in Amsterdam and, as a result, landed in Louisiana without funds. The group became indentured servants, sold to various families for a period of years to pay off their passage. This worked well for some, but when a woman who traveled with the Muller's sees a young woman sitting on the steps of a New Orleans bordello, she is positive that it is the long missing Salome. The investigations and court cases that were brought to solve this question went on for many years and were not dull reading. I was impressed at how the German community supported the efforts, but thought early on that they were not pursuing some key points. Bailey's ending is not entirely unexpected and leads me to wonder if the question could be sorted out today with DNA testing. What a story that would be!
May 16, 2019
“The Lost German Slave Girl” is about Salome Muller/Sally Miller/Bridget Wilson, a German “redemptioner” child from Germany—a small child sold into indentured servitude in 1840’s New Orleans for the price of her passage from Amsterdam.
A German woman walked by a cabaret one day and saw a young slave woman sitting on the steps and did a double take: surely this was her long-lost goddaughter, Salome! She takes the Slave, Sally, into her home (stealing her from her owner) and begins the quest for Sally’s freedom. The author does a great job turning dry court transcripts into a story and dialogue, as readable as Turow or Grisham.
So, were the folks who testified that they recognized Sally as Salome correct, or was the later find of another woman the correct Salome? I loved how we didn’t know the actual answer until the final sentence.
I knocked the book down to four stars, b/c it did get a little tedious to me in spots. But if you want a real-life court procedural, you might enjoy “The Lost German Slave Girl.”
A German woman walked by a cabaret one day and saw a young slave woman sitting on the steps and did a double take: surely this was her long-lost goddaughter, Salome! She takes the Slave, Sally, into her home (stealing her from her owner) and begins the quest for Sally’s freedom. The author does a great job turning dry court transcripts into a story and dialogue, as readable as Turow or Grisham.
So, were the folks who testified that they recognized Sally as Salome correct, or was the later find of another woman the correct Salome? I loved how we didn’t know the actual answer until the final sentence.
I knocked the book down to four stars, b/c it did get a little tedious to me in spots. But if you want a real-life court procedural, you might enjoy “The Lost German Slave Girl.”
June 2, 2015
Turned out to be better than I initially thought it would be. And that's because I envisioned it being more of an academic writing. After reading the introduction, I was struck by the author's passion to delve into the story of Sally Miller. He initially set out to write a book about some of the peculiar laws that permeated the South during slavery. However, when he came across the most interesting story of Sally Miller, he dropped his entire project and begin to follow the story of the lost German slave girl. So his passion drove me to read the book, and it was well done in its' pacing and prose. At times read like a mystery novel with some historical elements.
Author John Bailey tended to be balanced and didn't shrink from displaying the horrors of slavery, which I find rare in some authors. "White women who became aware that their fathers, husbands, or brothers were visiting the slave quarters at night usually blamed the black temptresses for luring their men away. This wasn't a time of sister solidarity, and instances where white women acted on a sense of sympathy with female slaves were difficult to find. And if a white man was ever indicted for the rape of a slave, historians haven't found a record of it."
Passages like that can be found throughout. Those kinds of everyday occurrences tend to get lost in a sea of "not all were bad," and "white women were just as much victimized," etc. etc. In fact, Toni Morrison recently said, she will know the end of racism is here when a white man gets convicted for raping a Black woman. 2015. Anyway, the German slave girl gets caught in the web of slavery having come from Germany with her family who were to serve as indentures. Somehow, Sally becomes enslaved, or does she? On the surface it is easy to see how this might happen in New Orleans, where the color spectrum for Blacks runs from snow to crow (an old friend says)and many can pass for "white" to those unfamiliar with the culture.
The intrigue of the story is Sally is discovered by her godmother after many years as a person of bondage. She takes up Sally's cause and engages the German community in and around New Orleans and gets this case all the way to the Louisiana supreme court. You see, they and other whites could not stand to see a white woman as a slave, oh the horrors. Sally just goes along for the ride, not really being too vocal about her past, claiming memory lost. So is this a case of mistaken identity or was Sally shrewd enough to play on her color and opportunistically became the lost German slave girl. Possibly this is the real Sally.
You'll have to read it to find the conclusion. A solid 3.5 stars.
Author John Bailey tended to be balanced and didn't shrink from displaying the horrors of slavery, which I find rare in some authors. "White women who became aware that their fathers, husbands, or brothers were visiting the slave quarters at night usually blamed the black temptresses for luring their men away. This wasn't a time of sister solidarity, and instances where white women acted on a sense of sympathy with female slaves were difficult to find. And if a white man was ever indicted for the rape of a slave, historians haven't found a record of it."
Passages like that can be found throughout. Those kinds of everyday occurrences tend to get lost in a sea of "not all were bad," and "white women were just as much victimized," etc. etc. In fact, Toni Morrison recently said, she will know the end of racism is here when a white man gets convicted for raping a Black woman. 2015. Anyway, the German slave girl gets caught in the web of slavery having come from Germany with her family who were to serve as indentures. Somehow, Sally becomes enslaved, or does she? On the surface it is easy to see how this might happen in New Orleans, where the color spectrum for Blacks runs from snow to crow (an old friend says)and many can pass for "white" to those unfamiliar with the culture.
The intrigue of the story is Sally is discovered by her godmother after many years as a person of bondage. She takes up Sally's cause and engages the German community in and around New Orleans and gets this case all the way to the Louisiana supreme court. You see, they and other whites could not stand to see a white woman as a slave, oh the horrors. Sally just goes along for the ride, not really being too vocal about her past, claiming memory lost. So is this a case of mistaken identity or was Sally shrewd enough to play on her color and opportunistically became the lost German slave girl. Possibly this is the real Sally.
You'll have to read it to find the conclusion. A solid 3.5 stars.
August 19, 2011
Salome Muller or Mary Miller or Bridget Wilson had a most interesting life. She was a slave in New Orleans in the first half of the 19th century. One day, a German woman spots her outside her owner's home and instantly recognizes her as the long-lost Salome Muller, daughter of Daniel Muller, a German immigrant. How could this white woman be a slave?
This tale starts in Germany in an era of famine and terrible times. Whole villages picked up to move to the New World, the Muller family among them. Many awful things happen on the journey including a number of deaths. It really makes you appreciate immigrant ancestors.
The author does an outstanding job explaining the convoluted slave laws of the time. Of course, these laws became more and more restrictive keeping people enslaved and pulling them back into slavery even after some were freed. The horrors of our "peculiar institution" are evident. Man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds.
The ensuing court cases twist and turn so that one can never be sure what the final outcome will be. This was one helluva fascinating glimpse into our less noble history.
This tale starts in Germany in an era of famine and terrible times. Whole villages picked up to move to the New World, the Muller family among them. Many awful things happen on the journey including a number of deaths. It really makes you appreciate immigrant ancestors.
The author does an outstanding job explaining the convoluted slave laws of the time. Of course, these laws became more and more restrictive keeping people enslaved and pulling them back into slavery even after some were freed. The horrors of our "peculiar institution" are evident. Man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds.
The ensuing court cases twist and turn so that one can never be sure what the final outcome will be. This was one helluva fascinating glimpse into our less noble history.
October 21, 2010
Quite a tale that raised all sorts of questions about what defined a slave in the American Antebellum south. Very entertaining and revealing about class and race, and the role of women. Some will be outraged by this one. Go on and read it.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_17464...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_17464...
December 14, 2014
A great story particularly fascinating because of its discussion of the life of indentured servants in America and the slave laws that existed in the pre-Civil War South.
April 9, 2024
Riveting drama right up to the last page, and I truly had no idea how it would all turn out. I liked that the author didn't give his opinion on the real identity of Sally Miller until the very end. It really allowed the reader to experience the uncertainty and suspense felt by Sally and her allies.
October 14, 2018
A fascinating story. Well written for the most part. There are times the story feels bogged down with legal explanations, but they are all important to understand the story.
August 17, 2015
The Lost German Slave Girl is the true story of a woman petitioning for her freedom from slavery in 1830's New Orleans. It is partly a historical narrative and partly an explanation of the laws governing slave trade and ownership in 1800s Lousiana. The author, John Bailey, uses Sally Miller's original court proceedings to tell her story, but also weaves in other relevant cases and information to paint a larger picture of Louisiana slave culture.
From the fate of European redemptioners, to the early history of New Orleans, to the significant biographical information about the lawyers, judges and family members involved in the court proceedings, Bailey covers every angle of the case and all of its pertinent details (all of which are fascinating). As a reader, it gives an intriguing (and surprisingly complete) picture of the environment and events surrounding Sally Miller's bid for freedom.
Multiple times throughout the course of the book, Bailey reminds the reader that "the truth is often stranger than fiction", and although The Lost German Slave Girl is firmly in the "nonfiction" category, it reads with the power and suspense of a novel, never once losing steam, even as the author pulls direct quotes from court proceedings. A fascinating account from start to finish, peppered with relevant facts from other stories and sources, The Lost German Slave Girl is a real-life page-turner.
Highly recommended for fans of nonfiction and historical fiction alike! 4.5/5 stars
From the fate of European redemptioners, to the early history of New Orleans, to the significant biographical information about the lawyers, judges and family members involved in the court proceedings, Bailey covers every angle of the case and all of its pertinent details (all of which are fascinating). As a reader, it gives an intriguing (and surprisingly complete) picture of the environment and events surrounding Sally Miller's bid for freedom.
Multiple times throughout the course of the book, Bailey reminds the reader that "the truth is often stranger than fiction", and although The Lost German Slave Girl is firmly in the "nonfiction" category, it reads with the power and suspense of a novel, never once losing steam, even as the author pulls direct quotes from court proceedings. A fascinating account from start to finish, peppered with relevant facts from other stories and sources, The Lost German Slave Girl is a real-life page-turner.
Highly recommended for fans of nonfiction and historical fiction alike! 4.5/5 stars
September 6, 2015
This book was more of a legal drama than the "legal thriller" is was made out to be. This was a story about a woman who allowed the people of Louisiana decide her fate. Not once did she say who she was. Her only testimony was that she couldn't remember her past because she may have suffered from yellow fever, and here the city was fighting for her freedom and her imprisonment.The book was a refresher on American slavery. It revealed deeper facts that I hadn't known about the history of American slavery. With so many people involved in the case, it was kind of hard to follow as some seemed to be secondary characters. What really bothered me was the authors interpretation and implications. It adds drama but it takes away from the story.
February 5, 2009
What I found most interesting about this book is not that some white girl was made a slave (which people at her time were just disgusted by) but how anyone then could find slavery of any person acceptable at all! The book gives a good historical overview of case law where judges, who are meant to be the voice of justice, reason that because of the supposed inherent inferiority of the black race, it was okay to treat them as property. It really made me ashamed of American history. There is so much to blame in the white community for the many traditions that tried to diminish the worth of a black person. I'm going to read more about this time period.
July 29, 2013
Excellent treatment of the complicated legal battles surrounding a German girl who was believed to be illegally made a slave. The author creates a very readable story out of sometimes fragmentary evidence, at times alternating between story telling and factual exposition. Along the way, I found a delightful assortment of vignettes that illustrate life in New Orleans before the Civil War. It fails to answer every question raised, but this is not a surprise. Even those involved in the cases never knew everything about them. Even so, I found the whole thoroughly enjoyable.
May 14, 2017
If you enjoy courtroom drama and intriguing history stories, then you might enjoy this tale of a young German immigrant who finds herself involved in a legal battle with a wealthy New Orleans slave owner. The whole town picks sides - is she really a lost German girl mistakenly thought to be a slave or is she really a slave who is trying desperately to win her freedom? I found the whole tale thoroughly enjoyable and even after reading the author's opinion, not sure I even know the real answer.
June 23, 2017
Very quick and interesting read that touches on the plight of early 19th century immigrants to America, indentured servitude, the arbitrariness of definitions of race, and the insane and complex legal system that developed around the horrendous institution of slavery. Written simply but engagingly, this book feels like a true crime novel and won't let you go until the very end (if even then!)
February 21, 2016
Well placed and clear
The author does an excellent job of making the villain in this work villainous although he was ultimately, at least in the legal sense at the time, in the right. That made this really enjoyable. I love a tale of comeuppance.
The author does an excellent job of making the villain in this work villainous although he was ultimately, at least in the legal sense at the time, in the right. That made this really enjoyable. I love a tale of comeuppance.
September 10, 2020
DNF very early on. The sentiment of this book is this:
Oh no, no, no. She is a white girl. You can't treat a WHITE GIRL as a slave. That's how you treat Black people.
I find it disgusting and offensive.
Oh no, no, no. She is a white girl. You can't treat a WHITE GIRL as a slave. That's how you treat Black people.
I find it disgusting and offensive.
February 8, 2020
I re -read the last three chapters, as soon as I completed this book. I can’t recommend highly enough!
June 18, 2021
In the preface to his The Lost German Slave Girl, John Bailey tells us that this book began as he was planning on writing another one--a history of slave law in America. As he researched, Bailey discovered this case, and as he explored further, he found that he could give us an overview of slave law in Louisiana by writing about Sally Miller, a young woman who was identified by German immigrants as a girl who was "lost" after her family landed in America.
Salome Muller was probably about two-and-a-half when she came to America with the rest of her family and many others from her Alsatian village. Her mother and a baby brother died on the voyage across the Atlantic. When they landed in New Orleans, the Mullers were "sold" as redemptioners, a term used for German immigrants who indentured themselves and their children to pay for their passage. Muller and his children disappeared.
One day, as she was walking through the seedier parts of New Orleans, a Madame Carl was stunned when she saw a girl standing in the doorway of a cabaret--the girl looked exactly like Dorthea Muller, the mother who had died at sea. Was it possible this was one of the Muller daughters who had disappeared 25 years ago? Madame Carl convinced the young woman to come with her to the home of Eva Shuber, another German redemptioner who had traveled to America with the Mullers. Eva was overjoyed--she had found her goddaughter! But what the German women learned about "Sally Miller" horrified them--she was a slave, considered to be a quadroon. The German community in New Orleans banded together to get a lawyer in sue in court for Sally's release from slavery.
And now Bailey gets the chance to tell his readers about slave law. There were many complicated laws governing the institution of slavery, and every one of them made it difficult to free Sally. Compounding the difficulties of the law was a man named John Fitz Miller, who had sold Sally to her current master. Miller was particular about his reputation, and he felt his character was being impugned by Sally's suit for freedom--as though he had enslaved a white girl! He would never do such a thing! Sally was black. True, she looked white, but he was convinced that was an illusion that her blood was, indeed, tainted.
Had Miller been able to admit he was possibly wrong (and understandably so, given Sally's coloring), Sally could have been freed with little problem other than navigating through the courts. Instead, Miller fought Sally's emancipation, even though he didn't have any interest in her. It was his own reputation he was defending, and he was determined to defend it, as well as destroy everyone who had sullied it by implying he had enslaved a German girl.
Bailey's book is meticulously researched, and he spares his reader long discussions of Louisiana law. We move through Bailey's story in suspense: will Sally get her freedom? As the book progresses, we also have another question: is Sally Miller really Salome Muller? The evidence is contradictory, but Bailey makes a convincing argument in favor of one of the possibilities.
Salome Muller was probably about two-and-a-half when she came to America with the rest of her family and many others from her Alsatian village. Her mother and a baby brother died on the voyage across the Atlantic. When they landed in New Orleans, the Mullers were "sold" as redemptioners, a term used for German immigrants who indentured themselves and their children to pay for their passage. Muller and his children disappeared.
One day, as she was walking through the seedier parts of New Orleans, a Madame Carl was stunned when she saw a girl standing in the doorway of a cabaret--the girl looked exactly like Dorthea Muller, the mother who had died at sea. Was it possible this was one of the Muller daughters who had disappeared 25 years ago? Madame Carl convinced the young woman to come with her to the home of Eva Shuber, another German redemptioner who had traveled to America with the Mullers. Eva was overjoyed--she had found her goddaughter! But what the German women learned about "Sally Miller" horrified them--she was a slave, considered to be a quadroon. The German community in New Orleans banded together to get a lawyer in sue in court for Sally's release from slavery.
And now Bailey gets the chance to tell his readers about slave law. There were many complicated laws governing the institution of slavery, and every one of them made it difficult to free Sally. Compounding the difficulties of the law was a man named John Fitz Miller, who had sold Sally to her current master. Miller was particular about his reputation, and he felt his character was being impugned by Sally's suit for freedom--as though he had enslaved a white girl! He would never do such a thing! Sally was black. True, she looked white, but he was convinced that was an illusion that her blood was, indeed, tainted.
Had Miller been able to admit he was possibly wrong (and understandably so, given Sally's coloring), Sally could have been freed with little problem other than navigating through the courts. Instead, Miller fought Sally's emancipation, even though he didn't have any interest in her. It was his own reputation he was defending, and he was determined to defend it, as well as destroy everyone who had sullied it by implying he had enslaved a German girl.
Bailey's book is meticulously researched, and he spares his reader long discussions of Louisiana law. We move through Bailey's story in suspense: will Sally get her freedom? As the book progresses, we also have another question: is Sally Miller really Salome Muller? The evidence is contradictory, but Bailey makes a convincing argument in favor of one of the possibilities.
January 28, 2018
This is a very well-written look at an odd incident from antebellum Louisiana: how did a German immigrant girl wind up enslaved for 25 years? Or did she?
So the first thing to deal with is the idea that we are being asked to care about one white person being forced into slavery - in the midst of millions of black people who were forced into slavery. I expected that to bother me a lot. And certainly all of the 1840s primary sources are full of white people clutching their metaphorical pearls over the idea that a white child might have suffered such a fate. And that surely a Southern gentleman would never stoop to such a thing. Unthinkable! But I found that Bailey - who wound up writing this book because he had been researching the laws that governed slavery - was able to present the story in a way that made clear the attitudes of the time without endorsing them or leaving them unexamined.
At about 250 pages, this isn’t a long book: Bailey does take the time to explain the background of the place and the people, but without going overboard about it. He gives you a brief history of the city of New Orleans up to the time of this incident, explains why so many people from central Europe were emigrating in the early 1800s, and covers the personal histories of the key players, but he writes well and clearly, so it’s all fascinating.
The story itself is strange from beginning to end - long-lost relatives, mistaken identities, more name changes than you can shake a stick at. Bailey does an able job of bringing it all to life.
One unfortunate aspect is that the central figure herself - let’s call her Sally Miller as Bailey usually does - stays fairly distant and mysterious throughout the book. I think it’s probably inevitable: she doesn’t seem to have left behind any written records herself (we’re told she learned to sign her name; how literate she was beyond that is unclear), and any guesswork into what she may have thought or felt is dicey given the open question of her true background and identity. But let’s also acknowledge that it feels more than a little unfair for her lawyer to be a more fully realized character in this story than she is.
So the first thing to deal with is the idea that we are being asked to care about one white person being forced into slavery - in the midst of millions of black people who were forced into slavery. I expected that to bother me a lot. And certainly all of the 1840s primary sources are full of white people clutching their metaphorical pearls over the idea that a white child might have suffered such a fate. And that surely a Southern gentleman would never stoop to such a thing. Unthinkable! But I found that Bailey - who wound up writing this book because he had been researching the laws that governed slavery - was able to present the story in a way that made clear the attitudes of the time without endorsing them or leaving them unexamined.
At about 250 pages, this isn’t a long book: Bailey does take the time to explain the background of the place and the people, but without going overboard about it. He gives you a brief history of the city of New Orleans up to the time of this incident, explains why so many people from central Europe were emigrating in the early 1800s, and covers the personal histories of the key players, but he writes well and clearly, so it’s all fascinating.
The story itself is strange from beginning to end - long-lost relatives, mistaken identities, more name changes than you can shake a stick at. Bailey does an able job of bringing it all to life.
One unfortunate aspect is that the central figure herself - let’s call her Sally Miller as Bailey usually does - stays fairly distant and mysterious throughout the book. I think it’s probably inevitable: she doesn’t seem to have left behind any written records herself (we’re told she learned to sign her name; how literate she was beyond that is unclear), and any guesswork into what she may have thought or felt is dicey given the open question of her true background and identity. But let’s also acknowledge that it feels more than a little unfair for her lawyer to be a more fully realized character in this story than she is.
December 21, 2016
It is a spring morning in New Orleans, 1843. In the Spanish Quarter, on a street lined with flophouses and gambling dens, Madame Carl recognizes a face from her past. It is the face of a German girl, Sally Miller, who disappeared twenty-five years earlier. But the young woman is property, the slave of a nearby cabaret owner. She has no memory of a "white" past. Yet her resemblance to her mother is striking, and she bears two telltale birthmarks. In brilliant novelistic detail, award-winning historian John Bailey reconstructs the exotic sights, sounds, and smells of mid-nineteenth-century New Orleans, as well as the incredible twists and turns of Sally Miller's celebrated and sensational case. Did Miller, as her relatives sought to prove, arrive from Germany under perilous circumstances as an indentured servant or was she, as her master claimed, part African, and a slave for life? A tour de force of investigative history that reads like a suspense novel, The Lost German Slave Girl is a fascinating exploration of slavery and its laws, a brilliant reconstruction of mid-nineteenth-century New Orleans, and a riveting courtroom drama. It is also an unforgettable portrait of a young woman in pursuit of freedom.GR description
This was a very interesting book and a insightful look into slavery laws in Louisiana in the 1800s. I was absolutely appalled at how slaves were treated and had absolutely no rights. I liked how the author quoted the law at the time. I was lost a few times when their were lots of different people introduced and/or name changes that were given to slaves and still not sure I totally grasped the ending. Definitely a book that I will think about for a long time.
This was a very interesting book and a insightful look into slavery laws in Louisiana in the 1800s. I was absolutely appalled at how slaves were treated and had absolutely no rights. I liked how the author quoted the law at the time. I was lost a few times when their were lots of different people introduced and/or name changes that were given to slaves and still not sure I totally grasped the ending. Definitely a book that I will think about for a long time.
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