Antislavery agitation is rocking Utica in 1835 when a young bride discovers an enslaved family hiding in her shed, setting in motion the exhumation of long-buried family secrets.
"In this eloquent debut, a diverse cast of characters embodies the political, class, and racial upheavals of its time and milieu, and does it all in living local color...[A] powerful look at the prologue to Emancipation."
--Kirkus Reviews"Potent...The book's descriptions are brutal, urgent, and realistic...In the intricate, relationship-based historical novel The Third Mrs. Galway, characters question civil disobedience and abolitionism; they also learn to be compassionate."
--Foreword Reviews
"Utica-area native and local historian Sinnott's deep knowledge of the abolition movement in upstate New York informs this nuanced portrayal of white ambivalence and anti-slavery activism."
--Booklist
"Sinnott offers a rich history of the burgeoning abolitionist movement."
--Publishers Weekly
"Sinnott's exciting novel looks at Northern white indifference to America’s original sin. By exposing the painful past she has created a beautiful, timely, and uplifting book with unforgettable characters who kept me guessing."
--Donna Hylton, author of A Little Piece of Light: A Memoir of Hope, Prison, and a Life Unbound
"Deirdre Sinnott is an extraordinary writer whose eye misses nothing. This compelling story is a must read--and it couldn't be more timely."
--David Black, award-winning journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and producer
"A fast-paced excursion into Utica, New York, in the mid-1830s, The Third Mrs. Galway captures the true-life anti-abolition riots against the New York Anti-Slavery Society. With lively and enjoyable prose, Deirdre Sinnott brings the story of emancipation alive."
--Paul Stewart, cofounder of the Underground Railroad History Project
"The Third Mrs. Galway offers readers romance, adventure, and poignant family drama while also providing insight into the complexity of antislavery attitudes before the Civil War. This is a historical page-turner that both enlightens and entertains."
--Barbara Weisberg, author of Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism
"With historical accuracy, Deirdre Sinnott brings to life the surprising drama of freedom-seekers and slave-catchers in Oneida County. This book animates the history of the region and the larger Underground Railroad phenomenon in a way that street signs and public lectures cannot."
--Jan DeAmicis, cochair of the Oneida County Freedom Trail Commission
It’s 1835 in Utica, New York, and newlywed Helen Galway discovers a secret: two people who have escaped enslavement are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. Suddenly, she is at the center of the era’s greatest moral dilemma: Should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives? Or will she defy convention and come to their aid?
Within her home, Helen is haunted by the previous Mrs. Galway, recently deceased but still an oppressive presence. Her husband, injured by a drunken tumble off his horse, is assisted by a doctor of questionable ambitions who keeps a close eye on Helen. In charge of all things domestic is Maggie--formerly enslaved by the Galway family and freed when emancipation came to New York eight years earlier.
Abolitionists arriving in Utica to found the New York State Anti-Slavery Society are accused by the local papers of being traitors to the Constitution. Everyone faces dangerous choices as they navigate this intensely heated personal and political landscape.
Genre: Historical
"In this eloquent debut, a diverse cast of characters embodies the political, class, and racial upheavals of its time and milieu, and does it all in living local color...[A] powerful look at the prologue to Emancipation."
--Kirkus Reviews"Potent...The book's descriptions are brutal, urgent, and realistic...In the intricate, relationship-based historical novel The Third Mrs. Galway, characters question civil disobedience and abolitionism; they also learn to be compassionate."
--Foreword Reviews
"Utica-area native and local historian Sinnott's deep knowledge of the abolition movement in upstate New York informs this nuanced portrayal of white ambivalence and anti-slavery activism."
--Booklist
"Sinnott offers a rich history of the burgeoning abolitionist movement."
--Publishers Weekly
"Sinnott's exciting novel looks at Northern white indifference to America’s original sin. By exposing the painful past she has created a beautiful, timely, and uplifting book with unforgettable characters who kept me guessing."
--Donna Hylton, author of A Little Piece of Light: A Memoir of Hope, Prison, and a Life Unbound
"Deirdre Sinnott is an extraordinary writer whose eye misses nothing. This compelling story is a must read--and it couldn't be more timely."
--David Black, award-winning journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and producer
"A fast-paced excursion into Utica, New York, in the mid-1830s, The Third Mrs. Galway captures the true-life anti-abolition riots against the New York Anti-Slavery Society. With lively and enjoyable prose, Deirdre Sinnott brings the story of emancipation alive."
--Paul Stewart, cofounder of the Underground Railroad History Project
"The Third Mrs. Galway offers readers romance, adventure, and poignant family drama while also providing insight into the complexity of antislavery attitudes before the Civil War. This is a historical page-turner that both enlightens and entertains."
--Barbara Weisberg, author of Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism
"With historical accuracy, Deirdre Sinnott brings to life the surprising drama of freedom-seekers and slave-catchers in Oneida County. This book animates the history of the region and the larger Underground Railroad phenomenon in a way that street signs and public lectures cannot."
--Jan DeAmicis, cochair of the Oneida County Freedom Trail Commission
It’s 1835 in Utica, New York, and newlywed Helen Galway discovers a secret: two people who have escaped enslavement are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. Suddenly, she is at the center of the era’s greatest moral dilemma: Should she be a “good wife” and report the fugitives? Or will she defy convention and come to their aid?
Within her home, Helen is haunted by the previous Mrs. Galway, recently deceased but still an oppressive presence. Her husband, injured by a drunken tumble off his horse, is assisted by a doctor of questionable ambitions who keeps a close eye on Helen. In charge of all things domestic is Maggie--formerly enslaved by the Galway family and freed when emancipation came to New York eight years earlier.
Abolitionists arriving in Utica to found the New York State Anti-Slavery Society are accused by the local papers of being traitors to the Constitution. Everyone faces dangerous choices as they navigate this intensely heated personal and political landscape.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"The Third Mrs. Galway reads like Balzac, with fear, desire, terror, and love intertwined in this gripping work of historical fiction. Deirdre Sinnott weaves the stories of a cross-section of 1835 Utica, New York, into an impressive and fascinating narrative that contemplates race, class, history, and the search for justice and humanity. ReadThe Third Mrs. Galway to be swept into the uncertain, violent time of 1830s New York and to see in new ways how that moment still affects our own." - Taylor M Polites
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