Review by 20hannahrose-mayer -- From Hill Town to Strieby
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20hannahrose-mayer
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- Latest Review: From Hill Town to Strieby by Margo Lee Williams
Review by 20hannahrose-mayer -- From Hill Town to Strieby
[Following is a volunteer review of "From Hill Town to Strieby" by Margo Lee Williams.]
Margo Lee Williams’ From Hill Town to Strieby is an intimately told and meticulously researched narrative of the development of a small, rural township in the emancipated South, first named Hill Town, then Strieby. The narrative is divided into four sections, each portraying a different stage of the town’s history.
The first segment gives a blunt but detailed account of the town’s early inhabitants. The second section describes the state of southern education after the Civil War, focusing on the efforts of the American Missionary Association (AMA) to provide vital resources to children of color in and around Strieby. The narrative goes on to describe the rise and success of an African-American intellectual and former slave, Islay Walden, who joins the AMA as a missionary. He returns to his home in Strieby-- now richly populated-- to establish a church and school. These efforts were wildly successful, as expressed in the third section, which reports above-average literacy ratings for the town in the decades that followed. The final section gives photos and brief descriptions of the citizens introduced in the beginning of Hill Town, and even includes anecdotes about life in Strieby.
At first, I was critical. I interpreted the first section as too dry, too choppy, and too objective, only offering the reader surface-level facts like names of relatives, death dates, and details of land purchases-- facts I was convinced were extraneous to the narrative. But as I reached the second part and read about Quakers’ and mainly the American Missionary Association’s relentless efforts to educate the emancipated rural south, the narrative grew on me. The writing is more cohesive, and it’s fascinating. Williams gives a detailed history of the climate of rural education as Strieby grew more populated, so the reader has a thorough understanding of how and why the town’s education developed in the way that it did. I re-read the first section, and wholeheartedly appreciated the lists of details about the town’s original inhabitants.
Before long the narrative captivated me. Williams adds intimate touches to the history, my favorite describing school children. Despite maintaining their families’ farms year-round, they nevertheless mastered “the three “R’s: ‘Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic.’” This and several anecdotes towards the end of the narrative lend a warm and personal voice to the history, and are my favorite parts of the narrative. By the time I reached the fourth section, I fondly perused the gallery of photographs and biographies. My heart was full.
Williams brilliantly portrays a town that overcame the obstacles of the Jim Crow era against all odds. She simultaneously provides both a comprehensive, overarching history of the region as well as an intimate story of the individuals who transformed it. I felt intensely interested and satisfied with the history once I had finished reading. The people described in Hill Town are just as vivid in my mind as any exceptionally written piece of literature, although the narrative achieves this feat in far fewer words. But that is not to say that the narrative is exceptionally written; my vivid interpretation can be largely credited to the story’s historical nature. These people aren’t fictional-- they really existed.
No, this narrative is not exceptionally written. In retrospect, although the first section includes interesting details, the writing is littered with dependent clauses and incorrect grammar. This resulted in sentences that are long and confusing. I disliked this element the most, because it made reading unnecessarily difficult. During my first read-through of the first section, I felt like I was trudging through the narrative, making constant notes of grammatical errors. Thus, I rate From Hill Town to Strieby three out of four stars.
In terms of an ideal audience, From Hill Town to Strieby exists somewhere in-between niche and layperson. Personally, I only know some history from this time period, and the narrative still left me satisfied. However, I do take a great interest in learning history, so Williams didn’t need to work very hard to win my attention. If the reader falls into this category-- the intrigued, open-minded layperson--, I recommend they read From Hill Town to Strieby.
******
From Hill Town to Strieby
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Margo Lee Williams’ From Hill Town to Strieby is an intimately told and meticulously researched narrative of the development of a small, rural township in the emancipated South, first named Hill Town, then Strieby. The narrative is divided into four sections, each portraying a different stage of the town’s history.
The first segment gives a blunt but detailed account of the town’s early inhabitants. The second section describes the state of southern education after the Civil War, focusing on the efforts of the American Missionary Association (AMA) to provide vital resources to children of color in and around Strieby. The narrative goes on to describe the rise and success of an African-American intellectual and former slave, Islay Walden, who joins the AMA as a missionary. He returns to his home in Strieby-- now richly populated-- to establish a church and school. These efforts were wildly successful, as expressed in the third section, which reports above-average literacy ratings for the town in the decades that followed. The final section gives photos and brief descriptions of the citizens introduced in the beginning of Hill Town, and even includes anecdotes about life in Strieby.
At first, I was critical. I interpreted the first section as too dry, too choppy, and too objective, only offering the reader surface-level facts like names of relatives, death dates, and details of land purchases-- facts I was convinced were extraneous to the narrative. But as I reached the second part and read about Quakers’ and mainly the American Missionary Association’s relentless efforts to educate the emancipated rural south, the narrative grew on me. The writing is more cohesive, and it’s fascinating. Williams gives a detailed history of the climate of rural education as Strieby grew more populated, so the reader has a thorough understanding of how and why the town’s education developed in the way that it did. I re-read the first section, and wholeheartedly appreciated the lists of details about the town’s original inhabitants.
Before long the narrative captivated me. Williams adds intimate touches to the history, my favorite describing school children. Despite maintaining their families’ farms year-round, they nevertheless mastered “the three “R’s: ‘Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic.’” This and several anecdotes towards the end of the narrative lend a warm and personal voice to the history, and are my favorite parts of the narrative. By the time I reached the fourth section, I fondly perused the gallery of photographs and biographies. My heart was full.
Williams brilliantly portrays a town that overcame the obstacles of the Jim Crow era against all odds. She simultaneously provides both a comprehensive, overarching history of the region as well as an intimate story of the individuals who transformed it. I felt intensely interested and satisfied with the history once I had finished reading. The people described in Hill Town are just as vivid in my mind as any exceptionally written piece of literature, although the narrative achieves this feat in far fewer words. But that is not to say that the narrative is exceptionally written; my vivid interpretation can be largely credited to the story’s historical nature. These people aren’t fictional-- they really existed.
No, this narrative is not exceptionally written. In retrospect, although the first section includes interesting details, the writing is littered with dependent clauses and incorrect grammar. This resulted in sentences that are long and confusing. I disliked this element the most, because it made reading unnecessarily difficult. During my first read-through of the first section, I felt like I was trudging through the narrative, making constant notes of grammatical errors. Thus, I rate From Hill Town to Strieby three out of four stars.
In terms of an ideal audience, From Hill Town to Strieby exists somewhere in-between niche and layperson. Personally, I only know some history from this time period, and the narrative still left me satisfied. However, I do take a great interest in learning history, so Williams didn’t need to work very hard to win my attention. If the reader falls into this category-- the intrigued, open-minded layperson--, I recommend they read From Hill Town to Strieby.
******
From Hill Town to Strieby
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: From Hill Town to Strieby by Margo Lee Williams
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Kanda_theGreat
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