Sister Mother Warrior: A Novel
Written by Vanessa Riley
Narrated by Adjoa Andoh and Robin Miles
4/5
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About this audiobook
Acclaimed author of Island Queen Vanessa Riley brings readers a vivid, sweeping novel of the Haitian Revolution based on the true-life stories of two extraordinary women: the first Empress of Haiti, Marie-Claire Bonheur, and Gran Toya, a West African-born warrior who helped lead the rebellion that drove out the French and freed the enslaved people of Haiti.
Gran Toya: Born in West Africa, Abdaraya Toya was one of the legendary minos—women called “Dahomeyan Amazons” by the Europeans—who were specially chosen female warriors consecrated to the King of Dahomey. Betrayed by an enemy, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, Toya wound up in the French colony of Saint Domingue, where she became a force to be reckoned with on its sugar plantations: a healer and an authority figure among the enslaved. Among the motherless children she helped raise was a man who would become the revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines. When the enslaved people rose up, Toya, ever the warrior, was at the forefront of the rebellion that changed the course of history.
Marie-Claire: A free woman of color, Marie-Claire Bonheur was raised in an air of privilege and security because of her wealthy white grandfather. With a passion for charitable work, she grew up looking for ways to help those oppressed by a society steeped in racial and economic injustices. Falling in love with Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an enslaved man, was never the plan, yet their paths continued to cross and intertwine, and despite a marriage of convenience to a Frenchman, she and Dessalines had several children.
When war breaks out on Saint Domingue, pitting the French, Spanish, and enslaved people against one another in turn, Marie-Claire and Toya finally meet, and despite their deep differences, they both play pivotal roles in the revolution that will eventually lead to full independence for Haiti and its people.
Both an emotionally palpable love story and a detail-rich historical novel, Sister Mother Warrior tells the often-overlooked history of the most successful Black uprising in history. Riley celebrates the tremendous courage and resilience of the revolutionaries, and the formidable strength and intelligence of Toya, Marie-Claire, and the countless other women who fought for freedom.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
Editor's Note
Celebration of Black women…
Lovers of Riley’s “Island Queen” will fall head over heels for “Sister Mother Warrior,” an epic historical fiction based on two real women. Gran Toya, a warrior-turned-slave and mentor to Jean-Jacques Dessalines (the first leader of independent Haiti), and Marie-Claire Bonheur, a free woman of color and eventual wife to Dessalines, both played significant roles in the Haitian Revolution. Riley’s sweeping novel is a celebration of Black women and Black empowerment with rich descriptions of the Caribbean at the turn of the 19th century.
Vanessa Riley
In addition to being a novelist, Vanessa Riley holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University. She also earned BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. She currently juggles mothering a teen, cooking for her military-man husband, and speaking at women’s and STEM events. She loves baking her Trinidadian grandma’s cake recipes and collecting Irish crochet lace. You can catch her writing from the comfort of her porch in Georgia, with a cup of Earl Grey tea. Riley lives in Atlanta.
More audiobooks from Vanessa Riley
Island Queen: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queen of Exiles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bewildered Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for Sister Mother Warrior
16 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The history lesson. I would love to see this made into a movie.