The cover page is adapted from Portrait of Christiana Carteaux Bannister, a painting completed in 1860 by Edward Mitchell Bannister. The cover and title pages feature the League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by The League of Moveable Type. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Mitchell_Bannisterwww.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
Iola Leroy
Chapters (35)
- Dedication 0:00
- Introduction 0:08
- I: Mystery of Market Speech and Prayer-Meeting 5:31
- II: Contraband of War 18:21
- III: Uncle Daniel’s Story 33:51
- IV: Arrival of the Union Army 48:56
- V: The Release of Iola Leroy 56:49
- VI: Robert Johnson’s Promotion and Religion 1:06:05
- VII: Tom Anderson’s Death 1:18:26
- VIII: The Mystified Doctor 1:28:48
- IX: Eugene Leroy and Alfred Lorraine 1:37:54
- X: Shadows in the Home 1:59:52
- XI: The Plague and the Law 2:23:09
- XII: Schoolgirl Notions 2:42:56
- XIII: A Rejected Suitor 3:03:58
- XIV: Harry Leroy 3:23:36
- XV: Robert and His Company 3:38:24
- XVI: After the Battle 3:54:50
- XVII: Flames in the Schoolroom 4:01:57
- XVIII: Searching for Lost Ones 4:08:54
- XIX: Striking Contrasts 4:37:38
- XX: A Revelation 4:56:06
- XXI: A Home for Mother 5:19:07
- XXII: Further Lifting of the Veil 5:23:06
- XXIII: Delightful Reunions 5:35:11
- XXIV: Northern Experience 5:46:05
- XXV: An Old Friend 5:59:53
- XXVI: Open Questions 6:14:01
- XXVII: Diverging Paths 6:30:01
- XXVIII: Dr. Latrobe’s Mistake 6:41:46
- XXIX: Visitors from the South 6:47:46
- XXX: Friends in Council 6:55:42
- XXXI: Dawning Affections 7:22:53
- XXXII: Wooing and Wedding 7:31:30
- XXXIII: Conclusion 7:45:31
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As the Civil War bears down on a small North Carolina town, a tight-knit community of enslaved men and women is preparing for the coming battle and the possibility of freedom. Into this ensemble cast of characters comes Iola Leroy, a young woman who grew up unaware of her African ancestry until she is lured back home under false pretenses and immediately enslaved. Amidst a backdrop of battlefield hospitals and clandestine prayer meetings, this quietly stouthearted novel is a story of community, integrity, and solidarity.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was already one of the most prominent African-American poets of the nineteenth century when—at age 67—she turned her focus to novels. Her most enduring work, Iola Leroy, was one of the first novels published by an African-American writer. Although the book was initially popular with readers, it soon fell out of print and was critically forgotten. In the 1970s, the book was rediscovered and reclaimed as a seminal contribution to African-American literature.