Authors Interviewing Characters: Jacqueline Friedland

We are delighted to feature this character interview by Jacqueline Friedland!

About the book:

THE STOCKWELL LETTERS

From USA Today best-selling and multi-award-winning author Jacqueline Friedland comes a gripping work of fiction based on the true story of female abolitionist Ann Phillips and her connection to Anthony Burns, a young man who briefly escaped American slavery and rocked the nation with his astoundingly heroic story.

A passionate advocate of abolition from her earliest years, Ann’s activism was derailed just before her twenty-fourth birthday, when she fell sick with a mysterious illness. In order to protect her fragile health, her husband, the famous abolitionist Wendell Phillips, forbade her from joining any further anti-slavery outings. Even so, when fugitive slave Anthony Burns is apprehended in Boston, Ann is determined to help him, no matter what it costs her.

With a particular focus on the predicament of nineteenth-century women who wanted to effect change despite the restrictions society imposed on them, The Stockwell Letters— takes a deep dive into the harrowing conditions of the antebellum South and the obstacles faced by abolitionists who fought tirelessly to eradicate slavery. A fast-paced, arresting recounting of America’s not-so-distant history— the story will stay with readers long after the final page.

JACQUELINE FRIEDLAND INTERVIEWS MRS. COLETTE RANDOLPH

J: Good morning, Colette. It would be great if you tell us a little bit about yourself to get us started.

C: Certainly! My name is Mrs. Colette Randolph, and I was born in 1832. I am the wife of Mr. Elton Randolph, the famous proprietor of Mane’s Tale tobacco in Richmond, Virginia. My husband and I live over on 5th and Cary in Richmond proper. You might have noticed the house, on account of it being the biggest and most beautiful home on the street. We even have river views from the bedrooms. My husband is the most successful tobacco distributor in a city full of tobacco distributors, so I suppose it doesn’t come as a surprise. We’ve been married a few years now, and I think I’ve been a good wife to Elton. Well, mostly a good wife. Certainly as good of a wife as anyone would expect. At least most of the time.

J: And how did you and Mr. Randolph end up with such a lovely home?

C: Well, you see, Mr. Randolph is a good deal older than I. He first set his sights on me during a gathering at my parents’ home when I was barely even a teenager. My daddy had thrown the party as a way of furthering his position with Richmond’s elite, what with us being newer to the area and all. Well, imagine his delight when the esteemed Elton Randolph declared his intent to court me when I became of age. It wasn’t too long from that day to when my father actually promised me to Elton in marriage, so long as Elton waited until I came of age. Both Elton and Daddy were thrilled with the arrangement. Elton spent the next several years constructing our new home, which he presented to me as a gift on the occasion of our wedding.

J: So you must be very happy then, you and Elton?

C: No, dear. I can’t say that we are. Oh! Am I allowed to say that? I’d prefer Elton not get wind of my comments or else I will pay. I always do.

J: Not to fear, Colette. I will make sure neither Elton nor any of his friends ever has an opportunity to read this interview.

C: Thank you. The alternative just would not do. 

J: Can you tell us about your relationship then?

C: Well, you’ve seen Elton, haven’t you? Old enough to be my grandfather, with that bulging middle and his balding, freckled head. I might have tried looking past his physical attributes if he’d been a kind and attentive husband, but our relationship is hardly a satisfying one. So long as I keep up my appearance and engage in only the most respectable of activities outside the home, he treats me fine. On the few occasions when I’ve stepped out of line, well, it hasn’t ended well for me.

J: Then how is it that you’ve ended up working outside the home? That doesn’t sound like something Elton would approve.

C: No, generally it wouldn’t be. It took a great deal of convincing for me to obtain his permission. But I told him that serving as a teacher at the Female Institute in Richmond, instructing young girls in scholarly skills and French (my mother’s maiden language!) would fill my soul to such a degree that it might somehow actually help me conceive the child we’d been longing for. And of course, I promised that if I were to actually become pregnant, I would quit the appointment at the Female Institute at once.

J: Did you enjoy the position at the Female Institute?

C: Oh, I adored teaching those young girls and watching their eyes light up with new ideas. Even more than that, I was grateful for the opportunity to conduct certain forbidden activities on weekends when the girls went home to visit family.

J: What kind of forbidden activities?

C: You mustn’t tell. I must have your word before I can proceed.

J: Oh, I wouldn’t dare say a thing.

C: I was teaching them to read. Adelia, who was my housegirl, and our friend, an enslaved man by the name of Anthony Burns. Both of them so bright and eager to learn. I couldn’t imagine a greater crime than depriving those two of the ability to read words on a page. But you know how times were. A lady such as myself could have received a hefty fine for teaching any Blacks in Richmond how to read. And Adelia and Anthony were at even greater risk for punishment than I. And yet, they chose to study with me. I felt the importance of my work with them each time they learned something new and found new ways to apply that knowledge.

J: I understand that you are one of few fictional characters in THE STOCKWELL LETTERS, that most of the others are drawn directly from history. Do you have any thoughts on why this might be?

C: Well, you mean besides the fact that someone as wonderful as I am could never exist in real life? (giggles). I’m joking. I believe that women such as myself were not forthcoming with their feelings in the 1850s. Especially in the South. There were those who were uncomfortable with owning slaves, but they were generally too frightened to speak up about their misgivings. These women would not have left journals with their thoughts, nor would they have been so careless as to leave evidence that they had been giving reading lessons to the enslaved. And yet, I’m confident that women such as myself did indeed exist, and I’m delighted to represent them all here today.

Thank you, Colette. It was a pleasure chatting with you today!

—

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Jacqueline Friedland is the USA Today best-selling and multi-award-winning author of He Gets That From Me, That’s Not a Thing, and Trouble the Water. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School, she practiced briefly as a commercial litigator in Manhattan and taught  Legal Writing and Lawyering Skills at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. She returned to school after not too long in the legal world,  earning her Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Jacqueline regularly reviews fiction for trade publications and appears as a guest lecturer. When not writing, she loves to exercise, watch movies with her family, listen to music, make lists, and dream about exotic vacations. She lives in Westchester, New York, with her husband, four children, and two very lovable dogs.

 

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Category: On Writing