cover image The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part 1: The Witnesses

The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part 1: The Witnesses

Sharon Ewell Foster. Howard, $15.99 trade paper (416p) ISBN 978-1-4165-7803-1

Foster (Passing by Samaria), acclaimed author of several books she calls "gospel novels," writes vividly about faith and slavery in this fast-paced narrative. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, aims to clarify the accepted history of Nat Turner's prosecution. Turner, the Ethiopian turned American slave, is a well-read patriot in slaves' eyes, but an ornery slave who needs to be put in his place in his mistress's eyes. Foster describes the Southern hierarchy of women and slave owners and rebellious and submissive slaves with equally deft passages. On August 22, 1831, when dozens of white people are killed in an insurrection, Turner is the assumed culprit. Hundreds of slaves are killed for participating in the uprising. The details and plot are nearly flawless, except in some of the courtroom scenes, where the story sags and there's too much repetition. Despite a few dull pages and some confusing transition between plantation life and the life of Turner's mother, Nancie, in Africa, the story is riveting and expertly told by an inspired, practiced storyteller. (Aug.)