About this item

The story of Margaret Garner - the runaway slave who, when confronted with capture, slit the throat of her toddler daughter rather than have her face a life in slavery - has inspired Toni Morrison's Beloved, a film based on the novel starring Oprah Winfrey, and an opera. Garner's story has defied solid historical treatment and Nikki M. Taylor's fierce, poetic history of Garner brilliantly captures her circumstances and her transformation from a murdering mother to an icon of tragedy, resistance, and motherhood. As an enslaved woman, Garner left only faint traditional historical footprints: she could not read or write, and left no diary, letters, or personal papers, obliterating the opportunity to know with certainty what she thought or believed. Although she is one of the few runaway slaves ever to testify at her own hearing, there are no extant official transcripts.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.