The Thief of Letters

By Janet Mountain Johnson

In 1776, Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "Common Sense," inspired 150,000 readers to fight for their freedom against Great Britain. But at the same time, African Americans could get their hands chopped off... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971801304
• ISBN13: 9780971801301
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Iberlae
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.5" x 4.8"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding!

The Thief of Letters is yet another tale of the tragic mulatto-however, this time Johnson's vivid imagination and outstanding writing skills breathes new life into a tired story line. This is the story of Brandy/Helen who was sold away from her mother at a young age. (I pause here to relay that the imagery painted by Johnson for this scene in the novel was powerful and heartbreaking-the mother's pain and humiliation crept from the pages into the reader's mind). The reader follows Helen into adulthood as she evolves from being the master's daughter's helpmate to the mistress of the master's son. True to the "tragic mulatto" formula, Helen is largely ostracized by the majority of the slaves because of her light skin and initial station as a "house" Negro. Her association to the local slave/witch who practices voodoo causes nearly all the slaves to fear her. Her torment is exacerbated when the master notices her strength and stamina during play and places her in the field with the very Negroes who despise and fear her. Her solace comes in the form of stealing letters (one at a time) from the master's children's spelling books to learn the alphabet. She eventually teaches herself to read. This ability will save her life (and others) repeatedly throughout her adventures in pursuit of freedom. There is so much more to this book that this review does not cover because of space and time constraints. Simply said: The author is a great storyteller and the book is superbly written. There are so many underlying issues and topics of discussion that were intertwined in the novel that one simply has to read it for themselves to appreciate this body of work. Well done, Ms. Johnson! This book is on my Best Reads List of 2002! Reviewed by PhyllisAPOOO Bookclub, Nubian Circle Book Club

The courage to read

Brandy was half-white. Brandy was a slave. Brandy was sold. Brandy became Helen. Sold from her wailing mother's arms at the age of eleven, Helen's life was changed forever when she was relocated to the Joseph plantation, Arcadia. She learned the science of herbs from the plantation's conjure woman, was the playmate of choice of Arcadia's young Master Benjamin, and became a field worker when it was seen that she could do a fair share of work. In addition, Helen taught herself to read by stealing glances at writing and permanently emblazening letters into her mind. And this was all in her first year there.The Thief of Letters by Janet Mountain Johnson gives us a glimpse into the life of a field worker, to a house slave, to a mulatto mistress. I was so enraptured by this book that sleep seemed an annoyance, and I battled it, the book resting in my hands late into the night. The writing is superb, worthy of any award that has been bestowed on any piece of litereature. The characters are real, feeling, and human, and tears oft found their way to my cheeks as I walked with them along their path of bondage. Anyone who can read should read this book. Anyone who can't will be encouraged to learn after hearing of the Thief of Letters. ~ Reviewed by CandaceK

Thief of Letters

My review will not be as detailed as others however, it is important to express that this is a book that is a keepsake. It should be given as a gift to friends and loved ones. It is compelling and I enjoyed it a great deal.

The Thief of Letters

I always thought I would like to go back in time and see really how life at these times were. I would not want to be visible because I know life was not as we know it. This book put you there. It made you want to shout out and scream, example at the begining when Helen was taken away from her mother as a child and sold. They threatened to beat the mother if she did not stop the noise when the child was pulled from her. As if she was not a person who had feelings, how would you feel and react if someone just took your children away from not because you were a bad parent. You understood the bravery of Jugurtha (king from Jamaica) but yet you wanted to tell Jugurtha you are no different in your thinking of how to treat your brothers and sister as to that of the slave owners. I picked this book up and could not put it down. I was mad that I finally had to put it down so that I may sleep for the night. This is not a waste of money by no means, the price is probably to low.

A amazing book

I happened upon this book when looking for childrens books on slavery to read to my son. I was fortunate enough to receive this book free and yet I feel as though the author was cheated because I should have paid for the amazing piece of literature. I found myself in the fields, homes, and slave quaters that are portrayed in the book. I could see the dirt roads, the master's house and when the children played a war game it was as if I played along with them. This book was wonderful and I am looking forward to the day that I can see the movie that goes along with it.