An Introduction with Lydia Bailey

Lydia Bailey by Kenneth Roberts
First Printing: 1947 by Doubleday

First of all, I just wanted to say hello to everybody! Well, "everybody" is probably just me at this point, but you get the idea. Books make up a gigantic part of my life, and I wanted to create a place where I could freely talk about them. This seems like a perfect venue, so let's get started!

I went on a "blind date" with this book, or in other words, the copy I purchased had no book jacket or synopsis. When I took it home and looked it up, I have to admit that I was disappointed to find out that it was a historical romance. Romance isn't a genre I reach for often. But I'm not one to give away a book that I haven't given a chance.

The story opens in the year 1800 on the protagonist, Albion Hamlin. Albion agreed to go before the court and act as lawyer for Mr. Bailey, a man on trial for speaking out against the government for violating free speech. At his client's home, he encounters a simple portrait of a girl with raven locks and a knowing smile.

"To me there was something heartbreakingly gay about the almost smiling lips and the sidelong glance of the girl in the picture- something intimate and personal that caught so unexpectedly at my throat that when I tried to ask, "Who's that?" I had to cough and try again."

 That girl's name was Lydia. Albion is entranced by her from the moment he sets eyes on her likeness. When he and his client are jailed after a whirlwind trial, he attempts a daring escape to find her. His search leads him to the island of Haiti, where Lydia has gone to be a governess for a wealthy french family. In his travels he finds a friend in a native man called King Dick, who takes Albion under his wing. Together they start the journey to rescue Lydia; a journey that will lead them through the heart of the Haitian Revolution and all the way to the African coast.

 History was definitely the more dominant theme in this historical romance. I learned so much about the country of Haiti in this book; about its peoples' struggle to free themselves from French slavery. I learned about Tripoli and its fight to liberate itself from a tyrannical ruler. But more than that, I learned about The United States and its habit of taking away other peoples' liberty to preserve its own. Our government's behavior in both of these countries was shameful. We turned away from people yearning for the same freedom we enjoy here.

The Final Rating: 5/5
I am so happy that I took the time to read this book, it opened my eyes to a time in our history that I may have otherwise missed. Kenneth Roberts' rich descriptions of Haiti and Tripoli still come to my mind today. I find myself missing Albion, Lydia, and King Dick. Their fight for freedom for all people was such an inspiration to me. I have no complaints about this book, it has earned a permanent place on my shelf.

Favorite Quote:
"I raged at the idiocy of pleading for tolerance when actually the world has always needed intolerance: intolerance of mediocrity, of cruelty, of laziness and stupidity and clumsiness, of knavery and tricky, intolerance of ignorance, of gluttony, of waste. I thought of the intellectual slavery in which so many men live, governed by nincompoops; of the irony that so many black men, considered only fit for slavery, should be so much more emancipated than any white men; of the hypocrites who prate about the desirability of equality when really equality is impossible for any human beings anywhere."

Who was she?

Lydia Bailey is currently out of print, but it is available for Nook and Kindle readers. A physical copy will have to be obtained through a used bookseller.