A reader e-mailed me and asked: Was the word cemetery really misspelled on the Bohannan Mountain Cemetery sign? The answer is yes – up until the day I first visited there in the early 1990s when I took this photo. When I mentioned it, Harrell Chancellor quickly repainted it and fixed the spelling.
This photo is from the cemetery, the gravestone of Elizabeth – one of my favorite characters in “The Freedom Song.” She’s a little slow on the uptake, but is lovable. And remember “the boys loved Elizabeth.”
What did you think of Elizabeth? Who were your favorite “The Freedom Song” characters?
I really want to encourage all my readers to visit the Lakeport Plantation website. Lakeport Plantation was restored to its original grandeur by Arkansas State University and friends. Of course if you live or are travelling near Southeastern Arkansas, please visit Lakeport Plantation. It is a beautiful museum. If you have already visited Lakeport please tell us about your visit.
Also, please go to the Back Story page for “The Freedom Song” to read about my first visit to Lakeport in 1998.
—Mike Jordan
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Okay, Mike, I’m finished! Read straight through in two days, without a coffee break! It is a compelling love story, despite all odds, with a great feel-good ending — or should I say prelude to the next book! I loved, loved Winnie, but it was also fun to be around Elizabeth (to see what she would do next) and to carefully follow Driver to understand why he was so conflicted. For me, the only character that did not ring true was Lycurgus (Maybe I’m a bit too close to him?) He comes across in the book as someone who accepted slavery as a necessary evil and tended to look the other way regarding what his overseers might or might not be doing, That makes sense. Yet, when he is presented with a runaway slave who has been hunted, beaten and tortured almost to the point of death, where he can’t look the other way, he condones giving him another 25 lashes. That does not seem to be in keeping with the overall picture that has been painted of Lycurgus. I would love to hear your thinking on this.
Hi Ruth. Glad you connected with the characters. The point with Lycurgus is a good one — my thinking was that it did fit with his character to just tell them to handle it and to get back to the camp meeting and Lydia as soon as possible — sort of out of sight, out of mind. I’m going to go back and read it to see if it implies more, as in he condoned it. Good point. We’ll talk more . . .
Hi Ruth. Yes, Lycurgus did not make the right choice that night, but upon reflection, I wanted him to get a measure of redemption when he granted the day to mourn, then on the night he and Lydia returned from New Orleans, at Lydia’s urging too, he stepped in to rebuke the raging overseer, assuring that there would not be any whippings and agreeing that the singing and music could return to Lakeport. Ruth, I see Lycurgus as a work in progress, somewhat conflicted and always the pragmatist and yes, as you say, looking the other way. But on this night, he did the right thing.
I just wanted to say thank you to the author. I learned details about my family that I would never have known if it weren’t for this book. I hope to get a chance to read the last novel in the series. I’m also a multiple great grandchild of Elizabeth Bohannan so I appreciate all the work you put into this book