Jefferson's Sons

William Beverly Hemings and his siblings are slaves; they’re also Thomas Jefferson’s children. Granted freedom at twenty-one, light-skinned Beverly leaves Monticello with plans to pass for white. But cultural differences complicate every aspect of his new life. The voices of the Hemings children give readers a perspective not found in history textbooks. An informative author’s note completes this eye-opening and powerful novel.

William Beverly Hemings has no idea what to call his father. His mother, Sally Hemings, forbids him to say Papa; Monticello's slaves address him as Master Jefferson; and Mr. President is the term usually reserved for visitors. Beverly, and his brothers and sister, are slaves; they're also Thomas Jefferson's children. What's more, they're legally white. The complexity of Beverly's identity gives the novel its heft but requires some background that initially takes the spotlight away from the characters before they emerge as distinct individuals to anchor this moving human story. Granted freedom at twenty-one, light-skinned Beverly leaves Monticello with plans to pass for white. But there's more to passing than color; cultural differences complicate every aspect of his new life. "The only way to be white is to not ever have been black." The voices of the Hemings children give readers a perspective not found in history textbooks. The rights of man, for example, aren't in nineteenth-century America for the taking; and no one knows this better than the slaves of Monticello, who, through Jefferson's indifference, are cruelly beaten and casually sold. As Beverly's younger brother Maddy tries to explain to a friend, Jefferson's Declaration of Independence proclaimed the founding fathers would protect those rights. "But they didn't really do it," the boy says. "I know," replies Maddy. "But they think they did." An informative author's note completes this eye-opening and powerful novel. betty carter