This is an historical novel set in Philadelphia before The Civil War. It is well researched, and involved some fascinating and appalling history concerning Pennsylvania and slavery which I’d never encountered in history class ( I am from Pennsylvania).
The characters in the story describe diverse experiences. For instance, there’s Nell, a young woman born into a wealthy Black family in Philadelphia, Charlotte (or Carrie), a woman who escaped a Southern plantation with her father, and James, Charlotte’s father, a talented woodworker who is passing as a rising businessman in the white community. Charlotte is posing as her father’s domestic servant, a role James keeps her tethered to to keep her safe, which unfortunately does not keep her happy. And finally, there is Evie, a close friend Charlotte left behind so unceremoniously when she ran away, and who just happens to suddenly appear in Philadelphia, but not as a free woman.
I’m impressed that the author took on the hard task of imagining the mindset of young Black women in Philadelphia during such a scary and brutal time. Lattimore was able to tell these women’s stories and make their conversations and actions seem real and believable. Actually, all the people who populated this story felt real. The anger, angst, and fear that Nell, Charlotte, and Evie experienced was palpable.
The engaging plot of this novel was inspired by Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and the evolving relationship between Jean Valjean and Cosette. In Lattimore’s story, we watch as James and Charlotte fight their way free and then find their different identities and ways forward in life. All We Were Promised is a fascinating story that I would recommend to most people.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine and Netgalley for this opportunity
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