The House Girl features two heroines. The first is Josephine Bell, a house slave in 1852 Virginia. The other is Lina Sparrow, a modern-day New York lawyer seeking a plaintiff in a slavery reparations lawsuit.
Conklin's wonderful novel presents the reader with a first person glimpse of slavery. House slave Josephine Bell's story is one of physical abuse and desperation born of the fact that she is "owned" by other human beings and gave birth to her master's stillborn child at age 13. She has been raised in the home of Lu Ann Bell and spends most of her time not in the fields, but caring for her mistress, who, as the story begins, is dying. Josephine, 17 years old, plans to run despite the fact that she loves Lu Ann in her own way. She tried to run once before, hours before giving birth, but was turned away at the safe house due to her imminent event. Josephine is the true creator of many beautiful painting credited to Lu Ann.
Lina is a young lawyer, daughter of admired New York artist Oscar Sparrow. In addition to seeking a plaintiff, possibly a descendant of Josephine Sparrow, she is looking for answers to the mysterious death of her mother when Lina was 4 years old.
Conklin skillfully interweaves the past and the present, traveling back and forth between the lives of Lina and Josephine. This is not a complex novel, but one of complex issues and emotions. I would give it a definite thumbs up.
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