The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is one of those books that will stick with me. It is historical fiction, based on the life of Sarah Moore Grimke.
Generally, when people think of abolitionists or women's suffrage, they think of the American Civil War and the early 20th century when women fought and won the vote. However, the lives of those who lived in the antebellum United States must be considered as well, including the steps they took to blaze the trails for abolitionism and women's suffrage.
Enter Sarah Grimke, a woman who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, to a slave-holding family. From an early age, she realized that something was wrong with the institution of slavery and she sought to rectify that impasse in ways she felt best during the early nineteenth century. Traveling north to live with Quakers (and meeting Lucretia Mott, another influential abolitionist and women's suffrage trailblazer), Grimke asserts her independence in body and mind by becoming a figure that existed way before her time. Additionally, Angelina Grimke, Sarah's younger sister, joins her in the fight and they ultimately become the South's first influential abolitionists.
This narrative begins when Sarah is a young girl and continues through her adult life; it recounts her relationship with a slave girl named "Handful" and Handful's fellow slaves. Sue Monk Kidd presents the narrative in an easy-to-follow style of writing and the historical tidbits throughout are certainly interesting and captured my attention (I'm a history nerd as well as a book nerd). Emotions of anxiety, love, frustration, sadness are conveyed throughout the book as well as the desire to do what is morally right in a society immersed in inequality, slavery, and capitalism.
I highly recommend this book primarily because I think it's extremely important to learn about historical figures. If the narrative doesn't portray the Grimkes' life 100% accurately, it certainly does its job in ensuring that Sarah and Angelina Grimke are known to the reader. They helped blaze the trail for abolitionism and women's rights long before John Brown, the Emancipation Proclamation, or the 19th amendment.
Rating: 10/10
Direct link to the book on Amazon:
Generally, when people think of abolitionists or women's suffrage, they think of the American Civil War and the early 20th century when women fought and won the vote. However, the lives of those who lived in the antebellum United States must be considered as well, including the steps they took to blaze the trails for abolitionism and women's suffrage.
Enter Sarah Grimke, a woman who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, to a slave-holding family. From an early age, she realized that something was wrong with the institution of slavery and she sought to rectify that impasse in ways she felt best during the early nineteenth century. Traveling north to live with Quakers (and meeting Lucretia Mott, another influential abolitionist and women's suffrage trailblazer), Grimke asserts her independence in body and mind by becoming a figure that existed way before her time. Additionally, Angelina Grimke, Sarah's younger sister, joins her in the fight and they ultimately become the South's first influential abolitionists.
This narrative begins when Sarah is a young girl and continues through her adult life; it recounts her relationship with a slave girl named "Handful" and Handful's fellow slaves. Sue Monk Kidd presents the narrative in an easy-to-follow style of writing and the historical tidbits throughout are certainly interesting and captured my attention (I'm a history nerd as well as a book nerd). Emotions of anxiety, love, frustration, sadness are conveyed throughout the book as well as the desire to do what is morally right in a society immersed in inequality, slavery, and capitalism.
I highly recommend this book primarily because I think it's extremely important to learn about historical figures. If the narrative doesn't portray the Grimkes' life 100% accurately, it certainly does its job in ensuring that Sarah and Angelina Grimke are known to the reader. They helped blaze the trail for abolitionism and women's rights long before John Brown, the Emancipation Proclamation, or the 19th amendment.
Rating: 10/10
Direct link to the book on Amazon:
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