Daniel L. Schafer

This biography of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley covers her life pretty much as the subtitle declares. Captured from the royal Wolof famiy in Senegal as a teenager by the slave trader and Florida plantation owner, Zephanah Kingsley, she becomes his mistress/wife and bears him a number of children. On his death, her son inherits the plantation which she manages with him. The book is an illuminating history of slavery in NW Florida from the early part of the 19th c through the Civil War and of the free back community in Jacksonville during Reconstruction. It provides a glimpse into the history of slavery and gender relations not often seen. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the period and place.… (meer)

I suspect the book is too scholarly for Oprah but the book has historical significance. The author did a good job of staying on topic but that is the weakness. I think reading from other sources would be advisable to understand the full complexity of the era. The bibliography and notes are well done so; they could be of use for further reading. The quote that Anna’s husband “had been a maritime merchant, planter, slave trader, abolitionist, founder of a colony for freed slaves, and advocate of miscegenation and polygamy,” should demonstrate the complexity.… (meer)