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Other Books
on Nathaniel Turner
(1800-1831)
Nat
Turner A
Slave Rebellion in History and Memory by Kenneth
Greenberg
Nat
Turner Before the Bar of Judgment by Mary Kemp Davis
Nat
Turner's Tragic Search by
Catherine Hermary-Vielle
The Rebellious Slave
Nat Turner in American Memory by Scot French
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Nat
Turner's Tragic Search
for Freedom from Deprivation to
Vengeance
By Catherine Hermary-Vielle
Translated by Robin Orr Bodkin In early
November 1831 a slave by the name of Nat Turner was tried,
convicted, and executed for murder in the Commonwealth of
Virginia. Approximately sixty white men, women, and children
died as a result of the rebellion that he planned and led
against the slaveholders of Jerusalem, a small farming hamlet in
the southeast section of the state. Of the hundreds of uprisings
that took place throughout the history of American slavery Nat
Turner's rebellion was more successful than most in dispelling
the myth of the "contented slave," an individual too
passive to fight for basic human rights or self-determination.
Nat
Turner's Tragic Search is a narrative of the events that led up to this
rebellion as well as drove it to its bloody conclusion. If it
were but a question of its known facts, which are few and far
between, one might feel content with a quick determination of
its import. After behavior beyond the pale, a protagonist,
whether as an actual historical figure or as a fictionalized
representation, receives his just due. That is, in the eyes of
the law a slave rebels against his "masters" by taking
their lives or encouraging others to do so.
Subsequently, he is arrested, tried, and sentenced to a
fate as equally horrifying as the one visited upon his victims.
Catherine Hermary-Vieille, however, perceptively anchors the
origin of this story elsewhere. From beginning to end she paints
it with Africa in mind as well as the inescapable influence that
a mother and her beliefs can bring to bear on her child.
"As long as blood coursed through her [Nat's
mother] veins, no one would ever convince her that a black
person's desire to be free was wrong or unlawful. What she did
know for sure, however, was the indisputable criminality of
forcing another human being into the bonds of slavery. She could
never break those bonds by herself, but Nat... would find a way
to do it."
Thus, Hermary-Vieille invites the reader to focus not
so much on the Nat Turner dossier as on the larger meaning of
his life and its message. In this light his story is both a
literal and figurative search for freedom, a search that
tragically consumes his life as it feeds his spirit.
--
Amazon Book Description
As
a slave and self-proclaimed leader for all those held against
their will, Nat Turner first tried passive resistance as a means
of transforming an unjust world. The indifference with which
this approach was met forced him to conclude that only violence
could effectuate the kind of change he desired.
Accordingly,
he organized and led a slave rebellion that resulted in the
deaths of some sixty men, women, and children. This brutal
revolt took place in rural Virginia during the 1830s. Not only
did it catch the local slaveholders unaware but it succeeded in
terrorizing them long after "justice was served" at
the end of a hangman's noose. To look into the face of hatred
and have no inkling as to its origin struck fear in the hearts
of the white survivors as well as clouded their sense of right
and wrong.
After
this tragic sequence of events, slavery and the conservative
politics that supported it grew even stronger before finally
giving way to a more enlightened outlook some thirty-five years
later.
Was
Nat Turner a murderer or a hero? Should we deplore his actions
as we do those of a terrorist or was there something heroic
about them, particularly in the context of slavery as a crime
against humanity? Who can say for sure? The value of human life
is often in the eyes of the beholder. What can we say is that
Nat Turner was a visionary, a complex, inherently intelligent
man haunted by questions of good and evil. Whatever he did,
whatever the sacrifices involved, he never failed to give his
all.
Excoriated
by some, venerated by others, few will dispute the indelible
mark that nat Turner left on American history.
--
Publisher
An
important historical novel . . . breathtaking
--Groupe
de La Cité International Diffusion
The
martyrdom of a freedom fighter. . . . The bloody revolt led by
[Nathaniel] Turner marked a turning point in the history of
American slavery. . . . In the pages of L'Ange noir we
rediscover the ghosts [of that embattled era] and the questions
that they raised, unfortunately, questions with which humankind
continues to struggle even to this day.
--Eve
de Castro, Le Figaro
In
her epic narrative Catherine Hermary-Vielle gets to the truth
[of Nathaniel Turner] in what just may be her most stunning book
todate. A talented biographer, Hermary-Vieille paints an
impassioned [Nathaniel} Turner on a canvas of the harsh
realities of slavery . . . realities that virtually leap from
the page.
--Femme
actuelle
If
American historians have treated him [Nathaniel Turner] as
nothing more than a common murderer, the author of this book
shows a man ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of his loved
ones and his people.
--Femina
Hebdo
Catherine
Hermary-Vielle sees him [Nathaniel Turner] in a new light. She
sees him as an intelligent, spiritual man, often deeply
troubled, yet thoroughly courageous and thus more than willing
to sacrifice his own life for something larger than himself.
--Le
Berry Républicain
Source:
Nat
Turner's Tragic Search |
