Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson is a Haunting Page-Turner
In the past, I have frequently run away from reading stories based on black plight, especially stories that centre on the cruel, enduring history of slavery or colonialism. It’s difficult knowing that such stories have so much truth nestled in them and they make for grim reads. However, in recent times, I’ve been able to bear them more. This is why I didn’t baulk at Yellow Wife’s description even though I knew the novel would hurt me something awful. Beneath, you’ll read for yourself how much pain this stunning book brought me.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Title: Yellow Wife
Author: Sadeqa Johnson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: January 12, 2021
Pages: 288 pages
Book Synopsis
Born on a plantation in Charles City Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a privileged life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the plantation’s medicine woman, and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world.
Freedom on her 18th birthday has been promised to her, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known and unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous “Devil’s Half-Acre,” a jail where the enslaved are broken, tortured and sold every day in Richmond, Virginia. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her jailor’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive Pheby will have to outwit him but soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.
My Thoughts After Reading
My review has no major spoilers but does share a limited trajectory of the book. However, if you prefer to be completely unspoiled, please skip ahead to my final thoughts.
Yellow Wife’s captivating novel begins with our narrator, Pheby Delores Brown, as a teenager living on a plantation with her mother, Ruth, under the ownership of Master Jacob and his vindictive wife, Missus Delphina. Following the death of a house slave, she starts working in the main house where her life as a relatively sheltered mixed-race girl comes apart one heart-wrenching event after another.
We see Pheby come of age in the wake of harrowing circumstances. Johnson’s mournful and memorising tale yanks away Pheby’s hope that she’ll be granted freedom once she is eighteen and share a beautiful life with her love, Essex Henry, himself a victim of Missus Delphina’s cruelty. Instead of this promise of an unshackled life which goes from a certain belief to a pipe dream, Johnson transports Pheby to the unimaginably horrific Devil’s Half Acre, a jail where, under the most inhumane and barbaric conditions, slaves are tormented, imprisoned and sold. There, she is forced to become the mistress of the wretched place’s jailer, whereupon her life becomes a constant, brutal, catch-22 of traumatic choices.
Johnson’s prose is stirring yet vulnerable; as unapologetically sincere as it is unflinching and uncomfortable. Well-paced, most of the story unfolds over six years which Johnson masterfully times in a way that makes Yellow Wife a dense yet page-turning whirlwind of a read. It’s un-put-down-able!
I was not surprised to learn after my read, from the authors note, that Devil’s Half Acre was an actual jail that housed and tortured more than 300,000 slaves from 1844 to 1865. The novel’s cruellest antagonist, the jailer, is based on Robert Lumpkin, the biggest slave trader in Richmond, where the prison is located. Pheby is based on his wife, Mary, a former slave who arrived at the jail as a child. She was later emancipated and married by Lumpkin for whom she bore five children. Another major character in the book is based on Anthony Burns, an escaped slave who was recaptured in 1854 and became “the most publicized prisoner ever detained at Lumpkin’s jail.” Mary, after taking pity on him, secretly gave him a hymnal, his only relief.
I felt very heartbroken by this story. I was brought to tears more than once because of how intimately woven and true to life Yellow Wife is.
Yellow wife is a soul-wrenching tale plucked right from history. It’s a piece of historical fiction whose inspiration and attention to detail turn a true to life and heart-breaking premise into a visceral tragedy. I recommend this to everyone not only because it’s Black History Month but because I think it’s a very important story that doesn’t shy away from the cruel and vicious violence of slavery. While often distressing, Johnson’s brilliant book also delivers moments of hope, as well as a gripping exploration of the lengths mothers, can go to protect, persevere and prevail. Do not be surprised when you spot Yellow Wife on many top books of 2021 lists later in the year. It is fantastic.
