Join us for a virtual program on Monday, March 22^nd @ 6:30 pm with Sadeqa Johnson author of Yellow Wife published in January, and local author Priscilla Paton, author of Should Grace Fail, published December 2020. 

Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre, a jail in Richmond, Virginia, where the enslaved are broken, tortured, and sold every day. There, Pheby is exposed not just to her Jailer’s cruelty but also to his contradictions. To survive, Pheby will have to outwit him, and she soon faces the ultimate sacrifice.

About Yellow Wife

Yellow Wife, a Globe and Mail best-seller and one of O Magazine’s “2021 Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels," is a harrowing story that follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.

About the authors

Sadeqa Johnson is the award-winning author of four novels. Her accolades include the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Book Award, and the USA Best Book Award for Best Fiction. She is a Kimbilio Fellow, former board member of the James River Writers, and a Tall Poppy Writer. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and three children. To learn more, visit SadeqaJohnson.net.

Priscilla Paton grew up on a Maine dairy farm and now lives in Northfield. She writes the Twin Cities Mystery Series featuring Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger. Where Privacy Dies was a finalist for a Foreword Indies Award, and Should Grace Fail is praised as “an ambitious mystery that tackles heavy themes.” Priscilla is also involved in community advocacy programs.

You can follow Priscilla on her website “Priscilla Paton” (priscillapaton.com), Goodreads (priscillapaton), Facebook (priscillapatonmystery), and Twitter (@priscilla_paton). 

Register for the event to receive the link and instructions for joining via Zoom.

For more information, please contact Jamie Stanley at the Northfield Public Library (507-645-1802) or Jamie.Stanley@ci.northfield.mn.us.