Plus, receive recommendations and exclusive offers on all of your favorite books and authors from Simon & Schuster.
An American Quilt
By Rachel May
Published by Pegasus Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
LIST PRICE $18.95
PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER
Free shipping when you spend $40. Terms apply.
Buy from Other Retailers
Table of Contents
About The Book
Rachel May’s rich new book explores the far reach of slavery, from New England to the Caribbean, the role it played in the growth of mercantile America, and the bonds between the agrarian south and the industrial north in the antebellum era—all through the discovery of a remarkable quilt. While studying objects in a textile collection, May opened a veritable treasure-trove: a carefully folded, unfinished quilt made of 1830sera fabrics, its backing containing fragile, aged papers with the dates 1798, 1808, and 1813, the words “shuger,” “rum,” “casks,” and “West Indies,” repeated over and over, along with “friendship,” “kindness,” “government,” and “incident.” The quilt top sent her on a journey to piece together the story of Minerva, Eliza, Jane, and Juba—the enslaved women behind the quilt—and their owner, Susan Crouch. May brilliantly stitches together the often-silenced legacy of slavery by revealing the lives of these urban enslaved women and their world. Beautifully written and richly imagined, An American Quilt is a luminous historical examination and an appreciation of a craft that provides such a tactile connection to the past.
Product Details
- Publisher: Pegasus Books (October 8, 2019)
- Length: 416 pages
- ISBN13: 9781643132365
Browse Related Books
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): An American Quilt Trade Paperback 9781643132365