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Occasionally a book comes onto my radar that I immediately know will be a favorite. I know I will be listening to it while I take a walk and while I dust, peel potatoes, weed the flower beds or sew. Most of the time I listen to audio books when I drive and have no issue waiting till the next car errand to hear the next few minutes of a novel. But this book by Sarah McCoy was one that I invented tasks to do so that I could listen a few more minutes. She has created a book that will stay with me in "The Mapmaker's Children". The book swings between 2014 and the 1860s. One of the main characters is John Brown's daughter Sarah. Her story starts just before John is hung for his part in the revolt at Harper's Ferry. While the historical figure of John Brown is a familiar one, I never considered what might have become of his wife and children. In the novel, his daughter Sarah, continues her work as an abolitionist by continuing to draw picture maps to direct slaves toward freedom. As time goes on, the book has her incorporating those coded maps onto doll heads. The part of the novel that takes place in 2014 rediscovers the story from a doll head found in the root cellar of a house that a couple buys in a town near Harper's Ferry. I highly recommend this book to those who, like me, love a good historical novel. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information. And enjoy the words of John Brown in the video below as Orson Wells reads John Brown's final speech.
