Author(s): Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Historical Fiction

wench \'wench\ n. from Middle English "wenchel,"1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child. Situated in Ohio, a free territory before the Civil War, Tawawa House isan idyllic retreat for Southern white men who vacation there every summerwith their enslaved black mistresses. It's their open secret. Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at the resort, building strong friendships over theyears. But when Mawu, as fearless as she is assured, comes along and starts talkingof running away, things change. To run is to leave everything behind, and forsome it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds thatbind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization areinseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances--all while they bear witness to the end of an era.An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, withan unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.