The Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson - 2021- 278 Pages

Yellow Wife by Sedeqa Johnson - 2021 - 278 Pages - A Novel

Set largely in Virginia from 1857 to 1874 is based on a true story about the life of a woman born into slavery, her mother was a plantation slave, her father the White plantation owner.

As the story open Phelby Brown becomes a house slave when another slave dies.  This puts her in frequent close contact with owner’s wife, who greatly resents her and who will send her to a slave’s jail to be sold when her husband is gone for a few months.  Phelby had been promised she would be given her freedom and sent to School in Massachusetts. 

Phelby, light skinned as was prized for Young girls sold as sex slaves, catches the eye of the jail owner.  Phelby enters into a relationship with him, pretending to love a man she despises, to stay alive and gain better treatment and status.  They have five children.

There are very vivid scenes of horrible whiippings  in Yellow Wife.  Slave owers sent their slaves to The Jail to be punished.  On one occasion a public beating of a captured runaway is turned into a Festival for whites and object lessons for enslaved persons.

Phelby knows she and her children are in spite of their light skin are totally at mercy of the jail owner.  He biggest fear is that her children will be sold and sent away never to be seen again.

Yellow Wife is a fast pased book with captivating plot turns.  The characters are very well realized.

The close was very gratifying.  

I highly recommend Yellow Bird.

“Sadeqa Johnson is the internationally best-selling author of four novels. Her accolades include being the recipient of the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award and the USA Best Book Award for best fiction. She is a Kimbilo Fellow, former board member of the James River Writers, and a Tall Poppy Writer. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and three children.”  From The authors website.  Sadeqajohnson.net

Mel Ulm