Description
Book SynopsisAn expansive new biography of Sojourner Truth, charismatic preacher and activist
Trade ReviewWinner of the inaugural 2010 OAH Darlene Clark Hine Award. A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2010. Co-winner of the 2009 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award.
"This biography is admirable in its thoroughness and in Washington's commitment to her subject and is well worth consulting."--Publishers Weekly
“This scholarly biography, meticulously researched ... is destined to be the definitive study for a generation. Highly recommended.”--
Choice "An interesting and persuasive reading. By forcing us to give up a sanitized, desexualized picture of Truth ... Washington does us a great service--one of many performed by this exciting and comprehensive book."--Women's Review of Books
"[A] wonderfully detailed and insightful account of Sojourner Truth's life."--
The Journal of American HistoryTable of Contentsa word on language ix acknowledgments xi abbreviations xix introduction: the three lives of sojourner truth part I bell hardenbergh and slavery times in the hudson river valley 1. African and Dutch Religious Heritage 9 2. "Home Is Like a Grave" 18 Domesticity, Spirituality, and Patriarchy 3. "Better to Me Than a Man" 32 Female Life, Labor, and Slavery in Rural New York part II isabella van wagenen: a preaching woman 4. Like Hagar and Her Children 51 Long Walks to Freedom 5. "A Rushing Mighty Wind" 69 Isabella's Baptism of the Spirit 6. Sanctification and Perfection 81 Becoming a Religious Radical 7. "I Will Crush Them with the Truth" 98 The Commune of Matthias part III sojourner truth and the antislavery apostles 8. The Antislavery Vanguard, 1833-1843 129 9. "The Spirit Calls Me There" 141 A Sojourner Is Chosen 10. A Holy City 156 Sojourner Truth and the Northampton Community 11. The Cold Water Army, Olive Gilbert, and Sojourner's Narrative 175 12. The Bloodhound Bill and Intensified Activism 191 13. The New York Campaign 206 14. "God, You Drive" 221 The Sojourner in Ohio 15. "I Go in for Agitatin'" 248 16. Truth Is Powerful 272 17. Proclaim Liberty throughout the Land 298 18. "Was Woman True?" 334 Sojourner, Suffrage, and Civil Rights 19. "I Am on My Way to Kansas" 355 epilogue: well done, good and faithful servant 377 notes 381 index 455 Illustrations follow pages 8, 50, 128.
