A Very American Story Just Published
"LET FREEDOM SING OF 19th CENTURY AMERICANS," an historical novel -- or could it be a musical -- by Vivian B Kline gives new insight into life in America. Joining the struggles of post Civil War blacks who became the first Jubilee singers, Susannah, their chaperone, and Ella, their pianist, are the heroines as they travel across the country. More at www.viviankline.com.
(PRWEB) June 8, 2009 -- "LET FREEDOM SING OF 19th CENTURY AMERICANS," an historical novel -- or could it be a musical -- by Vivian B Kline gives new insight into life in America. Joining the struggles of post Civil War blacks who became the first Jubilee singers, Susannah, their chaperone, and Ella, their pianist, are the heroines as they travel across the country. More at www.viviankline.com.
Front and back cover of "LET FREEDOM SING OF 19th CENTURY AMERICANS"
It all started when the author, Vivian B Kline found a postcard of black folks in ante-bellam costume seated around a piano in a formal pose. Who were these people, she wondered? A librarian in a Harlem library rightly identified them as the first jubilee singers who had raised $150,000 which was eventually used to buy the land and build the main building of Fisk University in Nashville, TN. That building is still in use today. Kline develops the plot around their travels; their story comes to life.
"After the Civil War blacks were being educated in a small school in which Mr. George White was the treasurer. He overheard the pupils singing the slave songs they knew from their parents.
"Quite suddenly music came from the other room. He listened. The pained look left his face and was replaced with a smile. Music had always been his favorite, but what he heard now were not church hymns: mournful, yet sweet, song after song came from the young voices of the students as they sang during their lunch hour. He was already acting as their choirmaster as they learned Christian hymns, but this was something different."
The book begins with a class of contemporary students hoping to make a musical. They choose the Fisk singers and follow their progress across America. Kline puts her creative spin on the story to include memorable characters such as P.T. Barnum, Mary Todd Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Horace Greeley and many others. In the end the students uncover a rich story-enough to make more than one musical! And the reader uncovers history that deserves a place in the spotlight today.
The book of 256 pages is a fast read for all. It would also be a fine addition to classes of American History, Black History and Women's History as it has an extensive bibliography at the back for those wishing to research further.
ISBN #978-1-4327-3812-9 published by Outskirts Press. Inc, It is available from them, from bookstores and from Amazon.com. More at www.viviankline.com.
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