Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez -- Book Review

Superb. Daring. Eloquently written. These are all words to describe Wench: A Novel by first time novelist, Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

Wench is the story of four black enslaved women who become friends over a series of summers spent with their masters who vacation at Tawawa House in the free territory of Ohio.

Lizzie, Sweet, and Reenie are regulars at Tawawa House, and they don't ponder the question of freedom often; but when Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking about running away, things change. Running away means leaving behind everything they hold dear--friends and families in the South. It's a difficult decision despite their circumstances.

When several tragedies occur at Tawawa House, these friends learn a great deal about themselves and the emotional and psychological aspects of the Peculiar Institution whose end is just beginning.

You simply cannot read Wench without being touched by these women's stories. While the book focuses more on Lizzie's life, her relationship with her master, Drayle, and her relationship with Mawu, the Tawawa House and what occurs there binds all four women together, making their stories inseparable.

Perkins-Valdez does an excellent job of blending fact and fiction in this story set between the years of 1842 and 1854, a time in which Harriet Tubman would escape slavery and start The Underground Rail, where she gains the title of "Moses" for leading her people to freedom.

The reader, while perhaps unable to truly identify with the plight these women face, still is easily able to sympathize with Lizzie, Reenie, Sweet, and Mawu. Some of them have already seen their families sold off and hold little hope of ever seeing their loved ones again. As a woman and mother, the violation they endure, how they are dehumanized, and how they are forced to put their desires aside so that one day their children might live free, drew me into their lives.

Lizzie's story is perhaps the most heartwrenching, because the decisions she makes are for reasons the reader might not be able to understand.

Wench is a powerful, extraordinary piece of work. It has already gained the attention of Oprah, and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw this book adapted to the small or big screen. It would also not surprise me if Wench garners Perkins-Valdez numerous awards.


Title: Wench
Author: Dolen Perkins-Valde
Publisher: Amistad
ISBN-10: 006170654X
ISBN-13: 978-0061706547
SRP: $24.99

The Book Connection's Picks for Black History Month

Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou

From Publishers Weekly

From the mellifluous voice of a venerable American icon comes her first original collection of writing to be published in ten years, anecdotal vignettes drawn from a compelling life and written in Angelou's erudite prose. Beginning with her childhood, Angelou acknowledges her own inauguration into daughterhood in "Philanthropy," recalling the first time her mother called her "my daughter." Angelou becomes a mother herself at an early age, after a meaningless first sexual experience: "Nine months later I had a beautiful baby boy. The birth of my son caused me to develop enough courage to invent my life." Fearlessly sharing amusing, if somewhat embarrassing, moments in "Senegal," the mature Angelou is cosmopolitan but still capable of making a mistake: invited to a dinner party while visiting the African nation, Angelou becomes irritated that none of the guests will step on a lovely carpet laid out in the center of the room, so she takes it upon herself to cross the carpet, only to discover the carpet is a table cloth that had been laid out in honor of her visit. The wisdom in this slight volume feels light and familiar, but it's also earnest and offered with warmth.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez - A recent Top 10 Pick in O Magazine!


Situated in the free state of Ohio, Tawawa House offers respite from the summer heat. A beautiful, inviting house surrounded by a dozen private cottages, the resort is favored by wealthy Southern white men who vacation there, accompanied by their enslaved mistresses.

Regular visitors Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet have forged an enduring friendship. They look forward to their annual reunion and the opportunity it affords them to talk over the changes in their lives and their respective plantations. The subject of freedom is never spoken aloud until the red-maned, spirited Mawu arrives and voices her determination to escape. To run is to leave behind the friends and families trapped at home. For some, it also means tearing the strong emotional and psychological ties that bind them to their masters.

When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet soon learn tragic lessons, that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the cruelest circumstances as they bear witness to the end of an era.

The Amen Sisters

by Angela Benson

After witnessing the suicide of a church sister, Minister Francine Amen is disgusted with herself for turning against the young woman and refusing to accept her claim of abuse by their pastor. Now, after a short stay in a psychiatric hospital, Francine is trying to pull her life and her ministry back together. But first she must face all of the people she has hurt so deeply—including her younger sister, Dawn. But can Dawn trust her? Francine used to date Dawn's husband, Sly—who now seems just a little too interested in Francine's recovery. As far as Dawn is concerned, Sly would be better off spending his time making amends to her for his own sins.


When A Man Loves A Woman by LaConnie Taylor Jones

Nursing administrator Victoria Bennett has soured on love. She has sworn off men; they bring too much drama and too much pain into her life. That is, until she meets pediatrician A. J. Baptiste, a single parent who is determined to woo her. A. J. will stop at nothing to have her, and Victoria finds her resolve put to the test…but is this a fight she really wants to win?



Uncle Tom's Cabin (Bantam Classics) by Harriet Beecher Stowe


Amazon Decription:

This 1852 novel provides a powerful, historical look at the treatment of slaves in the pre-Civil War South.

Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (King Legacy) by Martin Luther King Jr.

Amazon Description:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s account of the first successful large-scale application of nonviolence resistance in America is comprehensive, revelatory, and intimate. King described his book as "the chronicle of fifty thousand Negroes who took to heart the principles of nonviolence, who learned to fight for their rights with the weapon of love, and who, in the process, acquired a new estimate of their own human worth.’’ It traces the phenomenal journey of a community, and shows how the twenty-eight-year-old Dr. King, with his conviction for equality and nonviolence, helped transformed the nation—and the world.

Interview with Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Author of Wench

Today we welcome Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench: A Novel, which we'll be reviewing in January or February. This book is Dolen’s debut novel published by HarperCollins. We’ll talk to Dolen about her writing, details of this novel, and what she’s working on for the future.

Welcome to The Book Connection, Dolen. We’re thrilled to have you with us. Can you please start off by telling our readers a bit about yourself?

Thanks so much for inviting me. I was born and raised in Memphis, TN. After graduating from Harvard, I returned to Memphis to pursue my MFA in Creative Writing. Later I received a Ph.D. in American Literature from George Washington University. Since then, I have mainly lived in Seattle and Washington, DC.

While Wench is your first novel, you’re not new to writing. Please share some of your accomplishments with us.

I have published a few short stories here and there--one titled "The Clipping" has received some acclaim. It was originally published in The Kenyon Review. It was reprinted in their volume Readings for Writers. In 2009, it was a finalist for the Robert Olen Butler Fiction Award and will appear in an anthology of the finalists to be published by Del Sol Press. I have also written academic essays pertaining to African American literature that have appeared in scholarly journals.

Can you please tell us about Wench?

In 1851, a lawyer named Elias P. Drake purchased a plot of land near Xenia, Ohio with the intent to establish a summer vacation resort where the country's elite could relax and enjoy the mineral springs in the area. At the time, it was believed that natural water could cure illnesses and bring about good health. What made this resort unusual, however, was that it became a popular vacation destination for southern slaveholders and their enslaved mistresses. Ultimately, these flagrantly open relationships offended the northern abolitionists who also frequented the resort. After four years, the resort closed.

This part of the story has been confirmed by historians. I took this forgotten historical note and sketched in a fictional account of what it would have been like to be an enslaved woman traveling to this free state each summer. Why wouldn't the women try to escape? What kinds of emotional attachments did they have with these men? Initially, I believed that it was entirely possible that they actually loved the men. Ultimately, I discovered that it was much more complicated than that.

What inspired you to write this story of four enslaved women in the years prior to the American Civil War?

Once I discovered this resort--Tawawa House--I knew that I had to write about it. The historical footnote was too fascinating to pass up. I have always been the kind of author motivated by asking "why." My initial question was, "Why wouldn't they flee?" I knew that in order to answer this, I had to imagine myself into their hearts and minds. This story creates the kind of personal interior that historians can only surmise about actual historical persons who may have left behind little written record.

It appears this novel required a great deal of research since it is based upon an actual resort, and also because of the time period in which it is set. How did you tackle that research and when did you know you had enough information to begin writing?

Most of my research had to do with the period. I wanted to make certain that I got the dress right, for example. I spent a lot of time researching slave kitchens and southern plantation layouts. As a writer new to historical fiction, I quickly figured out that I had a lot to learn if I wanted to convince savvy readers. As for the actual resort, I did do a fair amount of research, but it had more to do with the details of the place. What would the men have hunted? What kinds of flowers grew there? I sketched the area where the resort existed so that I would know the proximity of the ravine to the springs, for example. By the way, I am very thankful to the librarians who helped me. I acknowledge them in my book. I love librarians.



Wench covers a very dark and difficult time in America’s history. Do you believe America has fully recovered from the atrocities that led to the Civil War?

I am a Southerner by birth, and so the obvious answer to that from my perspective would be no. In the South, its history is still very much present. It informs our daily lives, our culture, our speech, our manners. There is a part of me that does not want to use the word "recover." I am not sure what verb I would use. Have we fully acknowledged our pain? Have we reflected upon its darkest corners? I think there is still work to do. Even so, I love the South. I draw strength from my heritage, both the good and the bad.

Where can readers purchase Wench?

You can purchase online or at your local bookstore. It is available at Amazon.com and all the major retailers.

Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more information on the book?

My official website is www.dolenperkinsvaldez.com. I also encourage you to view my tour page at www.booktour.com to see when I will make an appearance near your hometown.

Besides your virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion, what other methods of marketing are you using to promote Wench?

I have a Twitter account (@Dolen) and a Facebook fan page. I am also relying on good friends to help me get the word out by throwing book parties and forwarding my announcements to their email lists.

Do you have intentions of writing another book? Have you begun that project yet?

Yes, I am at the beginning stages of my second book now. Stay tuned.

Is there anything you would like to add?

If your book group chooses the book, I am happy to make an appearance via Skype, telephone, or even in person if I am able. Send me a note at wench@dolenperkinsvaldez.com. I will respond promptly.

Thank you for spending time with us today, Dolen. We wish you great success.

Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.


You can follow Dolen on her virtual book tour by checking in every weekday of January at http://virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/