Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Book Talk: Lucy’s Story: Right Choices but Wrongs Still Left

This book talk is by MCPL Director, Sue Hays.

The Madison County Public Library is pleased to offer a book which has Black History, Women’s History, and Local History appeal in one moving story. Author Larry Hamilton lives in Ohio, but still has relatives and other close ties to Madison County. He has generously donated a copy of his book to the library so all Madison Countians may enjoy it.

Lucy’s Story: Right Choices but Wrongs Still Left
By Larry Hamilton

Larry Hamilton, the author, was challenged by a meeting with Alex Haley that inspired him to do an oral history with his grandmother. This book is a novel, but is based on that oral history.

Lucy, a young slave, was raised on a plantation in Madison County, Kentucky. She lived there with her mother and her sister, knowing little of the outside world. Lucy’s story picks up from 1850 through the end of the Civil War. As the story progresses, Lucy, her mother and her sister are given to the owner’s daughter when she marries, and they move down the road to their plantation. After an incident on the new plantation, Lucy’s mother, in an attempt to protect her daughters, takes them and flees to Camp Nelson in Jessamine County. Camp Nelson is being built as a supply station for the Union Army and has become a refuge. There Lucy finds a whole new world, learns to read and write through the efforts of John Fee and his family, falls in love and begins to understand life outside the confines of slavery. Kentuckians will appreciate learning about Camp Nelson and Madison County history in this novel based on fact.

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