Ms. Marquis’s first chapters brim with vigorous insight into an unusual aspect of Black history, one when African Americans were more than just victims of oppression, but actually held reins of power and dared to aspire to upper echelons of government and society. This first look presents the reader with four very different women, with different dreams, hopes and fears. Their dark skin informs their place in the world but their desires are often quite apart from what they look like.
The quartet are each distinct personalities, with no real emphasis of one over the other. The subtle nuances of character shine inside themselves and with their dealings with friends, families and outsiders. The chapters are all titled with the women’s names, as introduction and the opening of a window into thoughts and aspirations. A few of these girls wish for marriage, with love and/or money acting as a powerful incentive. Others have dreams of employment that will brings happiness and fortune.
The glimpses of a wider world are both enticing and unsettling and you suspect that sudden changes on the horizons are going to impact these ladies in startling ways. There will be rebellion against parental decisions, scandal over choosing the wrong partners, political and social upheavals and, as might be expected, racial tension from people who will never see past another person’s skin color.
While many readers will no doubt have their favorites among these women, I rather like all of them and wish to know how their destinies evolve over time.
The quartet are each distinct personalities, with no real emphasis of one over the other. The subtle nuances of character shine inside themselves and with their dealings with friends, families and outsiders. The chapters are all titled with the women’s names, as introduction and the opening of a window into thoughts and aspirations. A few of these girls wish for marriage, with love and/or money acting as a powerful incentive. Others have dreams of employment that will brings happiness and fortune.
The glimpses of a wider world are both enticing and unsettling and you suspect that sudden changes on the horizons are going to impact these ladies in startling ways. There will be rebellion against parental decisions, scandal over choosing the wrong partners, political and social upheavals and, as might be expected, racial tension from people who will never see past another person’s skin color.
While many readers will no doubt have their favorites among these women, I rather like all of them and wish to know how their destinies evolve over time.