JOURNAL OF A RESIDENCE ON A GEORGIAN PLANTATION IN 1838-1839

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Originally published by Harper in 1863, this ""journal"" had been kept in private hands for personal reasons until its author felt its publication might serve to weigh the scales against England's openly siding with the Confederacy. Long out of print, its publication at this time adds a note in a different key to the out-pourings attendant on the Centennial. Fanny Kemble came again to public notice here with Margaret Armstrong's biography A Passionate Victorian, which- after reading this journal seems to have slighted this vital facet of her life. Her marriage foundered on the deep differences between her husband, Pierce Butler, and herself in regard to slavery. This is hard to understand without the evidence of this journal, which records in meticulous and horrifying detail what she herself learned about slavery during the period in her marriage spent on the two Sea Island plantations. Whether today's readers will explore this evidence- set against a lively picture of the social mores, the background and customs, the sensitivity to the beauties as well as the horrors- remains to be seen. The editor has made an important contribution in its presentation.

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ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION