Bound, by Sally Gunning

It's probably not very obvious by the books I've been reading of late, but I've had a long interest in Colonial America.  Several years ago I bought Sally Gunning's The Widow's War, which I'm sorry to say remains unread on my bookshelf.  I'll be remedying that very soon, however, after reading Gunning's latest novel, Bound, in practically one large gulp over the long weekend.  Not too far into the book I discovered I couldn't, didn't want to put it down!  Although I don't believe Bound is a sequel, several characters from The Widow's War feature in her newer novel as well.

Bound chronicles Alice Cole's rather harrowing journey from London with her family at the tender age of seven to the New World.  Not only does her mother become ill and die, but her brothers succumb to the same fate as well.  Alice's father is left with only his young daughter and medical expenses (such as they were on board a ship in 1756) he cannot pay.  He's left with no other option than to sell his daughter into servitude for a period of eleven years.  I tried to imagine my niece in Alice's position, (who is a couple of years older) having to leave her only relative and travel to an unknown destination in a foreign world, with a man who will put her to work as a servant in his house, but I simply can't do it.  Imagine a small child who dreamed of living with her family in a big, new house in this new world, only to have hear dreams pulled out from under her.  Would she even understand it?  It's pure luck that Mr. Morton is an honest man.  Alice becomes the companion of his daughter, Nabby, who's only a few years older than she and is treated as one of the family. 

Alice's luck runs out, however, when Nabby marries Emery Verley.  The few remaining years of Alice's indenture are given to Nabby and Verley as a wedding gift.  Verley is not an honest man, and Alice is used and abused by him, even with the knowledge of Nabby.  Feeling completely alone and with no knowledge of where her father may be after so many years, she runs away from the farm after being battered not only by Verley but by her former friend Nabby as well.  She returns to Mr. Morton, once so much like family, but he turns her away.  In the end she stows away on a ship and ends up in Satucket, Cape Cod.  Here Alice's path crosses that of the widow Lyddie Berry (whose story is told in The Widows War), and she finds a refuge with the widow and a man called Eben Freeman who is a boarder in her home.

I'll let you imagine the state she must have been in, and the consequences of Verley's abuse.  Although the story becomes quite heartwrenching, it's hard to turn away.  I had to find out what happened to Alice.  At times, I will admit, I was frustrated by her.  She had a total lack of trust in the widow and Mr Freeman, but under the circumstances it would be hard to imagine her otherwise.  This all created a certain urgency to Alice's story.  She was developed very well and had a depth to her.  She wasn't always easy to fix in my mind, but by the end of the story she had certainly grown and changed.  I do feel like there is some aspect of the widow's and Eben's characters/relationship that I'm missing.  I suspect things will be fleshed out more when I read Gunning's previous novel.

The story is all played out against pre-Revolutionary Boston and Satucket.  While Alice is dealing with her own inner turmoils, the colonists are dealing with ever increasing taxations (and without any Parliamentary representation).  Mr. Freeman must spend time in Boston due to his work, and each time he returns the men of the town gather round to hear the latest news.  All along the seaboard there is talk of non-importation of tea and coffee as well as cottons, wools and linens.  Eventually the women will drag out their spinning wheels and turn to homespun as the fabric of choice, and there will less China tea and more herbal tea (and not the nice sort of tea we know today).  I especially loved the descriptions of how Colonial textiles were made.  Alice helps the widow in the manufacture of homespun to try and pay back some of her kindnesses.

Although this was at times a sad tale, it was ultimately a satisfying story.  I'm quite curious now to hear about the widow Berry's history, so will hopefully be reading The Widow's War soon and am wondering what Gunning will come up next to write about.  Hopefully she'll continue on with more Colonial American tales.  I think I also need to dig out my books by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (a noted historian on the period), especially Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth, in which she discusses a variety of artifacts from the period and their makers and uses.  It sounds fascinating (as do her other books).   

I also want to mention the author's historical note at the end of the novel where she discusses indentured servants in America.  Maybe I already knew this (somewhere in the back of my mind), but it's still a hard concept to grasp, but indentured servitude still occurs today.  "...According to John Berger," Gunning writes, "CEO of The Emancipation Network, an organization whose mission is to end human trafficking by promoting economic self-sufficiency for survivors and at-risk groups, there are more people living today in indentured servitude, or debt bondage, than in any time in history, it being one of the most common forms of slavery worldwide, including in the United States.  Currently, there are an estimated twenty-seven million people living in slavery."  It's frightening to think that indentured servitude didn't die out at the end of the 18th century. 

Comments

[tara]

Glad you enjoyed this! I agree - I need to read The Widow's War too, and I think certains aspects of the Widow's personality will become more clear. I hope Gunning will wrote more about these characters.

[Litlove]

This sounds fascinating! Reading Stefanie's posts on Emerson always reminds me that I know nothing about American history. This book sounds like a wonderful place to start!

[Isabel]

Even in Africa, there is still slavery. Sad.

Send me a personal email to tell me this: Did Sarah ever find her father?

[Danielle]

Tara--Gunning has a website, but I don't see anything about a new book. I really want to know now about Lyddie and Eben. I couldn't even fix in my mind how old they were, but I'm very curious to see how it all came about.
Litlove--I admire Stefanie's Emerson project! I've not read much in the way of American history (or even fictional books) lately. Sometimes I feel like I know more about British history, since I seem to read so much of it. I need to dig through my shelves and see what I can come up with.
Isabel--It's horrible to think this is still going on! The book was very eye opening in that respect. I will email you and let you know.

[John Berger]

I found this blog thanks to google, and I just wanted to chime in and add a few things. Im the John Berger from the historical note.

There are many cases of indentured servitude that have been successfully prosecuted in the US. To be honest, no one really knows how may people in the US are indentured servants, but its a real problem here, an in countries like Hatti a very large percentage of the children end up enslaved.

Ill be presenting this Sunday with Beatrice Fernando, a woman who escaped indentured servitude by jumping out of a fourth floor window. Thats this Sunday, Sandwich MA, First Church of Christ , - pot luck dinner at 5:30 - she speaks at 6. http://www.bearopublishing.com/

The biggest problem we face in fighting all forms of slavery is that most folks don't know that it exists or that they can do something to help. Our organization helps survivors economically, but if you are interested in legislation - check out http://polarisproject.org/. If you are interested in research - see - http://www.freetheslaves.net

These and many other great groups can use your help.

And thanks to Sally for including us and the important issue of modern slavery - its great to see that its making an impact.

John Berger
http://www.madebysurvivors.com/

[Pam]

I finished Bound (loved it)a few weeks ago and I, too, have the Age of Homespun on my bedside table which I hope to get to soon.Will have to, of course ,search out the Widow's War as well! (it never stops, does it?). How fun is it that John Berger posted on your blog!

[Andi]

Wow, Bound sounds amazing, and I love the cover! It's one of those books that I would definitely pick up thanks to cover lust.

[Danielle]

John--Thanks so much for posting your comment and for the links! It's really an issue that more people should be aware of. I suppose things are being done about it, but I never seem to see it in the media. I will definitely be looking for more information about it! I suppose it is hard to know how many people this affects since it is in the shadows so to speak. Hopefully more people will see your comment here!
Pam--Yes, one book leads to another--that's always what happens to me. We're thinking along the same lines with this one, aren't we. I've wanted to read Laurel Ulrich Thatcher's books for a while now! And yes, very cool that authors occasionally seem to find me when I mention them. I do love it when that happens--they always add so much more to the discussion!
Andi--The cover is very nice, isn't it! It has a very Colonial feel to it, and I need to look it up and see where and when it was painted. It fits the novel to a T!

[Jeane]

This sounds like such a great book. Yours is the second review I've read of it. I have a feeling lots of book bloggers are going to pick up this one.

[Danielle]

Jeane--I also read another blogger review of this recently. It's well worth searching out. Once you get into it, it's hard to put down! I hope her first novel is equally as good.

[nikki Hardin]

I loved both Bound and Widow's War...I hope there are more books coming from Gunning set during this period of history.

[Danielle]

Nikki--I have yet to read Widow's War, but I have it on hand. I really enjoyed Bound. She's due another new book about now, isn't she?! I also love to read about this period!