Saturday, February 21, 2009

Book Review: Blindspot

Title Blindspot: A Novel
Author
Lepore, Jill
Jane Kamensky
Rating *****
Tags colonial america, boston, fiction, women, art, slavery, mystery

An excellent historical mystery novel by two women academics. It is told by two alternating characters: Fanny Easton, a "fallen woman" who disguises herself as a boy to apprentice to the artist Stewart Jameson, who is too preoccupied with his own demons to see Fanny for who she is. His demons include hoping to see again his friend, Ignatius, who was raised to be well-educated, then sold into slavery.

In the end, the authors have woven a mystery with a strong picture of the evils of slavery and sexism. The authors' notes say that the details of the story are accurate to the time.

It is a wonderful story, excellently told.
Other authors
Lepore, Jill


Author – Lepore, Jill
Publication Spiegel & Grau (2008), Hardcover, 512 pages
Publication date 2008
ISBN 0385526199 / 9780385526197

No comments: