Rating: 
Summary: A must read
Review: Although I am not particularly a fan of historical fiction, the title and subject of this book intrigued me. I was in for a real treat as I felt the pain of both women who loved Douglass. I found myself unable to put this book down.Married to the illiterate woman who bought his freedom, Frederick met Ottilie Assling, a German Jew who felt her religion gave her insight into the plight of the Black American slave during one of his speeches. I wanted to choke that woman when she immediately decided that Anna wasn't a suitable wife for Frederick. I wanted to beat him with the book when he invited Ottilie to spend the summers at his home (with his wife and kids) in Rochester under the guise of translating his writings into German. I wanted to slap Ottilie when she became jealous each time Anna carried Frederick's child. And I'm not a violent person. The women have a meeting at the kitchen table, sharing their thoughts, hopes, fears and insecurities, both learning who Frederick truly loved most. Jewell Parker Rhodes has done an exceptional job of conveying the range and depth of emotions felt by both women who loved Douglas.
Rating: 
Summary: Erroneous from first page
Review: As president of the New Bedford Historical Society and steward of the first free home of Frederick and Anna Douglass, I am appalled at the errors in the facts contained in this book..starting with the date they met to the name of the city that embraced them.
Anna married Frederick and travelled to New Bedford in 1838 and was NOT pregnant. They were guests of black abolitionist Nathan and Polly Johnson in New Bedford, not Bedford, and remained in NB until 1842 or 1843,as documented by City records.
When married in NY by Pennigton, Garrison was not present. They had not even met...These are just a few of the errors in the beginning of this book. I realize this is not a text book but to dishonor the memories of Anna and Frederick Douglass to sell books is unacceptable
Rating:
Summary: Douglass' Women.......THE VERY BEST OF 2004!!
Review: AS THE NEW YEAR IS UPON US, I OFFICIALLY OFFER YOU MY LIST OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS THAT I'VE READ IN 2004. THIS IS OUT OF ABOUT 84 BOOKS THAT I'VE READ THIS YEAR. EVERY SINGLE BOOK ON THIS LIST IS A MASTERPIECE WORTH BUYING. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED WITH GREAT LITERATURE LIKE THE FOLLOWING:
"THE DARKEST CHILD"--Delores Phillips
The finest, most dramatic debut I've read in years. Top notch and gut-wrenching. This is by far the best book of 2004.
"BRICK LANE"--Monica Ali
Superb entry into a world foreign yet all too familiar. Flawless, beautiful writing.
"HOTTENTOT VENUS"--Barbara Chase Riboud
A True Story. Which makes this book all the more shocking and tragic. By now you've heard of the kidnapped and dehumanized South African woman paraded in the 1800's Europe as a "freak" because of her huge posterior and the apron over her genitals. Chase Riboud chronicles the tale perfectly and makes it far more interesting than just history. The fact that "Sarah" was like a Pop Superstar of her day makes it all the more chilling in my opinion. A definite Must-Read.
"FLESH AND THE DEVIL"--Kola Boof
Totally original, unexpected black love story. Chock full of African history, U.S. black history, fantastic plot twists, pulsating sex, equally dazzling "lovemaking", brilliant observations about race, color and sexism and plenty of risk-taking by the sensational Sudanese-born Kola Boof, truly a NEW STAR in the "epic" sense. Fabulous!
"DOUGLASS' WOMEN"--Jewel Parker Rhodes
If ever a fictionalized story of a real person's life/real events makes you totally believe inch and detail of the fiction writer's imagination--this one is it!! Jewel Parker Rhodes is turning out to be one of our most ardent writers of historical fiction, her brevity and flair for honest human emotion making her just a little BETTER, in my opinion, than the queen of historical black fiction--Barbara Chase Riboud. You can't go wrong with "DOUGLASS' WOMEN", it's sensational.
"ERASURE"---Percival Everett
I know. I'm late reading this one. But it's classic, fantastic, the greatest book ever written about being a "black" writer today. SUPERB. 10 Stars.
"A DISTANT SHORE"--Caryl Phillips
Great novel about "human beings" ripped apart in their own world and then thrown together in new equally dreadful surroundings. A black man and a white woman are juxtaposed in England with terribly beautiful insight by the writer. It's a hard book to explain, except that it's about human beings finding their real true minds. Superb!!!! I give this one 10 stars.
"DRINKING COFFEE ELSEWHERE"--Z.Z. Packer
The breakout debut of the new Alice Walker and Toni Morrison rolled into one. Z.Z. Packer is outrageously talented and brilliant. These sparse, witty, intelligent, insightful short stories will bring you to tears, make you laugh and truly astonish you.
"THE KNOWN WORLD"--Edward P. Jones
This book starts off kind of "slow", but once you get into it, it's quite shocking, easily one of the most important stories told in a decade. Jones deserves all the accolades and awards he's received for this masterful masterpiece of the new century.
"LOVE"--Toni Morrison
Still the undisputable greatest writer writing. Toni Morrison offers up one of her very best novels, the most underrated and overlooked novel of the year. Absolutely meszmerizing, a bute.
Rating:
Summary: Inspired further research
Review: For a non-historical fiction fan, this book truly kept me interested. I think just knowing that Frederick Douglass had human characteristics and that he was capable of some of the same lurid things found in today's modern world kept me craving more. I still respect and appreciate everything that he has done to make America a better place, but I loved hearing the naughty details of went on back then. This book also made me want to do some of my own research to get a better idea of what actually happened. I think Rhodes did an excellent job of weaving real life with fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Behind every great man...
Review: Frederick Douglass has long been revered for his contributions to the
abolitionist movement of the 19th century. Born a slave himslef, he brought
his experiences of the unjust treatment of slaves to the world's podium.
But is it true what they say about "behind every great man, there is a great
woman?" In Douglass' case there were two. Rhodes has dramatized the stories of Anna Murray Douglass, Mr. Douglass'
first wife, whom he referred to as "a black log," and his perpetual mistress
Ottilie Assing, a German woman. She carefully weaves the tales of these two
women by switching perspectives, allowing the reader to hear both sides of
the story. A stirring tale of love unrequited, love undemarcated, and love
unresolved, Douglass' Women is one of those books where you find yourself
walking alongside the characters, sharing in their pain, in their joy, and
in their longing. Rhodes says in the afterword that "My intention was not to diminish
Douglass but, rather, to 'lift the veil,' to 'reimagine' the emotional truth
of two women loving Douglass in an era of sweeping social change." Rhodes
"lifted the veil" on the events surrounding the Tulsa Riots in Magic City.
She "reimagined" the life of the legendary Marie Laveau in Voodoo Dreams.
The queen of fictional history has easily accomplished her goal with
Douglass' Woman, another beautifully written weaving of history and legend. ~Reviewed by Candace K
Rating:
Summary: Cardboard figures...
Review: Frederick Douglass's love life was quite complicated. This account moves back and forth between his black wife and his white mistress. Anna Murray is Douglass's wife, a free Maryland woman of color who helps him escape the South. In exchange, his marries her. However, as Douglass' fame grows, he meets a German woman named Ottilie Assing. This book potrays Frederick as a scum-bag who just wanted women to be submissive to him. Anna is whiny and annoying, even as we DO feel a bit bad for her being left all alone (usually pregnant) while Frederick is away, many times with Ottilie. Ottilie is a stuck-up snob, so it's hard to care about her. I couldn't really connect with eithier woman. Nice use of putting quotes at the beginning of each chapter, but that couldn't save the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Douglass portrayed as Selfish and Loveless
Review: Frederick Douglass, known to many as an escaped slave that spoke on the injustice of slavery and worked with abolitionists to stop slavery, is PORTRAYED as a self-centered man - remember this is fiction. For Douglass, the women in his life are good for sex, bearing children to proudly carry the Douglass name, working on his cause, and taking care of the house. His egocentricity grows as he becomes more popular around the world; building a man who loves nothing more than the cause for which he's fighting. Douglass' Women is a novel about the love between Frederick Douglass and his free, uneducated Black wife, Anna and the love between him and his educated, well-to-do, German mistress, Ottilie Assing. Though the novel is fiction, it uses actual letters from Douglass, Ottilie, and Rosetta (Douglass' daughter) as preludes to each section in the book. The author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, makes great use of the letters that serve as a foundation for the book. The reader's journey begins with the slave, Frederick Bailey, meeting Anna Murray then moves on to the escaped slave activist renamed as, Frederick Douglass, meeting Ottilie Assing and ends with the death of each woman. The book alternates between Anna and Ottilie giving her perception of Douglass' interaction with her, the other woman, and his work. Throughout the book each woman states their belief of love, for Anna "love be true", for Ottilie "love be free". Ironic for both women Frederick Douglass denied true love to Anna by committing adultery with Ottilie and denied free love to Ottilie by sharing himself with her only when appropriate for him. Douglass' Women is an intriguing work of fiction, based on real people that shaped African American history. The key word is fiction, so of course there are drawbacks that I found in the story that I was able to overcome as I read more. First, I was a bit annoyed by Anna's grammar and her understanding about the world, but I quickly realize that Anna just enjoyed the simple things in life. For her to meet and become Mrs. Frederick Douglass was far larger than she anticipated when she first met the slave. Also, I thought Ottilie's forwardness and seduction of Douglass, along with their sexual escapades, was a bit stereotypical. Despite that, Rhodes did a remarkable job at showing how two distinct women in love can have the same outcome. Along with Douglass, the main characters include:
Anna Murray Douglass - Douglass' wife who he refers to as "a black log"; though born free, she's illiterate with no desire to learn to read; she's easily fulfilled by a life where she can care for her man, bear healthy children, and maintain a clean and happy home; understanding of love = love be true
Ottilie Assing - Douglass' mistress with European features (blond hair and blue eyes) which she uses to her advantage as necessary; determined and knows what she wants; well-educated artist and editor, but naïve to think education and intelligence makes everyone equal and the world will accept it; understanding of love = love is free Other important characters:
Mam - Anna's mother; teaches Anna that love is shown in the "little things" that people do, say, and give
Oluwand - slave girl that "escapes" as Ottilie watches on; despite the women being opposites during this era, they choose the same means of escape to leave a man that will never show love in return
Rosetta Douglass - Anna and Freddy's oldest daughter; taught by her father that "she is Frederick Douglass' daughter and she should not embarrass him"; represents the balance between her parents, she has her mother's features (which she considers ugly) and is well-educated as her father desired
Annie - Anna's youngest daughter; like her sister, she represents a balance between her parents, she has her father's features and her mother's domestic skills
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I bought this book because the entry I read in "Gumbo" was too good to pass up! And I wasn't dissappointed. This is a prime example of how someone's personal life doesn't necessarily affect a person's view on their political life (ex. Clinton). I still have the same amount of respect for Frederick Douglass but I just learned something new. The author did a great job!
Rating:
Summary: Freddy and the Women Who Loved Him
Review: In her latest novel, Jewell Parker Rhodes gives a voice to the woman who was Frederick Douglass' first wife, Anna--- the wife he referred to as "an old black log." She wanted to know who was this woman and what role she played in his life. Anna is enamored of Freddy as she calls him. He is a slave working on the Baltimore docks when she meets him. A captured man in the body of a proud, fiery man struggling to break the restraints society and life has placed on him. Self-taught, intelligent, well read, he and Anna, an illiterate domestic servant conspire for his freedom. Freddy is everything to Anna and she risks all to be with this handsome man. She comes to the marriage giving everything she possesses both financially and emotionally, older than he, and a little overweight. She realizes that his abolitionist friends and others think she is not fitting as his wife and then there is Otillie. Otillie is a German Jewess from Europe who is well traveled and educated, blonde, beautiful, slim, and white and she wants Anna's husband. She too risks everything, including her reputation to be with the man she loves------ despite the fact he is married. I had the pleasure of hearing Parker Rhodes read from her book as she put me in the heads of both Anna and Otillie. I felt Anna's pain as she grappled with being married to a man larger than life, adored by many, both black and white, hunted by slave catchers, and knowing she could never make him completely happy. Though Otillie was an unlikable character--- she scoffed as Anna's plain looks and unsophisticated ways--- it was difficult to place her in the role of villain at times because she was also a pawn in Douglass game as Anna was. In this fictionalized account of the women who loved him, Douglass is seen as no more or no less than a man. Yes, he was a great orator, gifted writer, statesmen, and abolitionist but still, just a man, albeit a black man with all the foibles and warts of any other man. An entertaining story this book was one of my top ten favorite books of 2002 and will go on my list of all-time favorites.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB!!
Review: In this wonderful piece of work, Ms. Rhodes takes a look at a less familiar aspect of Frederick Douglass's life...that of the personal. Based on historical fact, Ms. Rhodes weaves the tale of Anna Murray--a free woman of color who meets the strapping young slave in Baltimore, and funds his escape to freedom in the North. As promised, he sends for her; they marry and she is soon pregnant with the first of their many children. Upon arrival in the town of New Bedford, Douglass aligns himself with White abolitionists and soon becomes known for being a great writer and orator. It is during these activities that he meets the German Ottilie Assing. Educated, well-bred, and Jewish, the blonde-haired Ms. Assing is fascinated by Frederick Douglass; she soon finds herself falling in love and beginning a decades long affair with the famous abolitionist. Steeped in historical fact, this novel takes an in-depth look at Frederick Douglass the man--and his relationships with the two main women in his life; his wife and his mistress. Undoubtedly invaluable to the cause of abolition, the story drives home that beneath it all Frederick Douglass remains simply a man--with all of the frailties and imperfections that make him thus. DYB
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