All We Were Promised

April 1, 2024
Three young Black women in 1837 Philadelphia—one enslaved, one free, and one a runaway—find friendship and danger in Lattimore’s richly layered debut. Having fled from the White Oaks plantation in Maryland, Charlotte and her father, James, build new lives in the city. James, who passes as white, becomes a successful furniture maker, while Charlotte shrinks under the guise of being his housemaid. Nell Garner, a young Black woman who visits their house, introduces Charlotte to Philadelphia’s Black society and enlists her in aiding the abolitionist movement. Charlotte maintains her cover story with Nell and other abolitionists for everyone’s safety, but danger ensues with the arrival of Evie, another Black woman enslaved at White Oaks, who’s visiting Philadelphia with Charlotte and James’s owner. After a chance meeting at the local market, Evie and Charlotte rekindle their friendship, and Evie decides to risk running away with the help of Charlotte and Nell. Lattimore effectively develops all three of the central characters’ emotions and perspectives as they reconcile what freedom means to them, and she provides a textured view of such historical events as the building of Pennsylvania Hall as a meeting place for the antislavery movement and its subsequent burning by an angry antiabolitionist mob. Lattimore is a writer to watch. Agent: Jaime Carr, Book Group.

May 31, 2024

Charlotte and her father, James, have run from their enslaver, fleeing to Philadelphia in an ill-thought-out escape. There they find a large community of free Black people and a strong, though contested antislavery movement. To keep themselves safe, James passes for white, while Charlotte poses as his housemaid. At the market, Charlotte encounters Nell, a free Black woman from a wealthy family who is raising funds for the abolitionist movement. They become friends, and Charlotte begins to imagine a new future for herself, chafing at her restricted life and encouraging her new friends to take more direct action against slavery. When her former enslaver, accompanied by Charlotte's childhood friend Evie, appears in Philadelphia, Charlotte knows that trouble will soon follow. Journalist Lattimore offers an engaging reading of her illuminating author's note. Narrator Shayna Small voices the characters' differing worldviews in alternating chapters, creating well-rounded characterizations that capture a wide range of experiences, motivations, and personalities. Excellent pacing brings out the brewing conflict between those for and against slavery. VERDICT Lattimore's compelling debut highlights issues of class, race, and women's rights, as experienced by three Black women in 1837 Philadelphia. Recommended for fans of Shaunna J. Edwards's The Thread Collectors.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.