‘Wench’ explores life of privileged slaves

In her debut novel, “Wench,” author Dolen Perkins-Valdez explores a subject that is rarely spoke of: the life of a privileged slave of the pre-Civil War era, particularly the women who became the mistresses of their masters. Perkins-Valdez's portrayal finds that though these women receive benefits denied to their sisters in the fields and kitchens, they still long for a freedom that seems out of their reach.

Lizzie knew that because she was her master’s favorite, she was afforded extra privileges that the other slaves weren’t. As his mistress, she accompanied him each summer to the Northern resort Tawawa House, where other slave owners vacationed.

At home, Lizzie is allowed to live in the big house with her master, Drayle, and his wife, Fran. She has two children by Drayle, and their future depends on their mother keeping their father happy and content. Lizzie has to put up with Miss Fran’s meanness as well as stay in the good graces of the rest of the slave community. She doesn’t really belong in either world.

But when Lizzie is at Tawawa House with Drayle, she is accepted as his companion, and it’s here that Lizzie finds the friendship she longs for with three other women — Rennie, Sweet and Mawu — who are also with their owners at the resort. In the little cottages set aside for the Southern men and their mistresses, the women bond as they compare their circumstances, share secrets and help each other survive pain so intense it threatens to take their very lives.

But when Louisiana-born Mawu begins to talk about freedom, about leaving her hateful master, restlessness settles over the slave community, and soon the thought of running is on everyone’s minds. When a tragic fire sets in motion events that can’t be reversed, Lizzie wonders if she’ll ever be brave enough to just walk away and never return to her family, to her home and even to the only man who ever showed her a bit of love.

“Wench” is a powerful novel about an era that few today can imagine existing. It is the story of how women’s friendships can be a potent influence, and how the love of family can override that intense longing for personal freedom.

It should be pointed out that while yes, the women were slaves, they were, for the most part, well-cared for and loved by the owners as both valuable property and as family. The character of Drayle comes across as a man who loved both his white wife and his black family, was aware that he had crossed a boundary, but was willing to give what he could to the mother of his only children. But he also had to bear up under years of influence both from the culture and his family tradition of being plantation slave owners, and often he was as conflicted in how he should act as Lizzie.

Perkins-Valdez touches on life beginning, life being tolerated and life ending in her emotional story, and in the end leaves the reader more thoughtful about the struggles the slaves endured during that era. “Wench” was selected as one of Oprah Winfrey’s top 10 books to read in February, with Winfrey calling the book a “righteous historical novel.”