A remarkable account . . . McLaurin succeeds admirably in using Celia's story to raise larger issues about the meaning of American slavery. . . . That Celia and her shocking tale can be recovered at all is testimony to McLaurin's skill and assiduity.
Drew Gilpin Faust, New York Times Book Review
McLaurin has not only told a compelling story, but also crafted a work that teaches the art of history by richly illuminating a particular time, place, and moral climate.
Journal of Southern History
Informed by theory, the book is not thesis-ridden and it may be used easily by scholars of any perspective.
Choice
McLaurin's novelistic approach to history results in an information-packed, thought-provoking piece of theater. McLaurin's meticulous research brings forward layers of information that set the scene and reconstruct the details of an
Booklist
Provides a new chapter in the growing literature on slave women . . . McLaurin may not have believed that Celia acted entirely independently; he has nonetheless added her name to the saga of black women who 'struck a blow' for freedom.
Journal of American History
A remarkable biography . . . McLaurin has masterfully researched judicial, historical, and contemporary materials in preparing this compelling and thoughtful narrative. Enhanced by its sensitivity and brevity, this book is a provocative starting point for discussion of its many ethical, legal, historical, and social issues. It should be required reading for high school students.
School Library Journal
A straightforward and compelling account of one small historical incident that helps to illustrate the complex issues facing pre-Civil War America.
Kirkus Reviews
A gifted historian . . . McLaurin is both scrupulous and imaginative in his interpretation of the evidence. . . . Without ever moralizing, McLaurin conveys the raw horror and 'psychic costs' of a legal and thoroughly American institution that condoned the rape, sexual abuse, and hanging of a girl known only as Celia.
David Brion Davis, New York Review of Books
