Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Reviews
Leah's Story tells of a girl born on a rice plantation, who grows up to serve her rich owners in Georgia. Her life, like so many others, could have ended there were it not for emancipation and education, which give her and her children new opportunities to revise their lives and dreams.
C.M. Huddleston is a historian and retired archaeologist whose background lends to a story that draws from both imagination and a real-world historical mystery, presenting Leah's saga in chapters arranged chronologically by year to reinforce the changing times, from 1827 to 1903.
Huddleston discovered Leah's narrative in a small traveling trunk hidden in a corner of a museum attic, and here reproduces her own words, as written down by the equally mysterious 'S.B. Elliott'.
One notable aspect of this story is its dialogue which is crisp, real, and involving, personalizing the diary and experiences of Leah: "Now, Miss Elliott, don't take my words wrong. Daddy William and me, we was happy. We had good food each and every day and nice clean clothes. I could read and write, though Mistress Martha had suggested I not tell anyone 'ceptin' William I could. Most white people didn't hold with teaching coloreds to read and write. Figured it made them more likely to escape and go North."
Where fictional approaches might miss some of the subtler nuances of Leah's times, the journal chronicling her life captures its daily politics, joys, heartbreaks and intricacies - and this, combined with the overlay of the mystery about her life, makes for a powerful story indeed, highly recommended for history readers and especially for collections strong in documents about a slave's move to freedom during tumultuous times.
