Dessa Rose

In 1829 in Kentucky, a pregnant black woman helped lead an uprising of a group of slaves headed to the market for sale. She was sentenced to death, but her hanging was delayed until after the birth of her baby. In North Carolina in 1830, a white woman living on an isolated farm was reported to have given sanctuary to runaway slaves. In this classic novel of courage and redemption, acclaimed author Sherley Anne Williams asks the question: "What if these two women had met?"

These two strong women, one black, one white, form a forbidden and ambivalent alliance as a bold scheme is hatched to win freedom. Trust is slowly extended and cautiously accepted as the women unite and discover greater strength together than alone. Bound by fate but divided by prejudice, they explore and defy racial barriers in a moving story of courage, freedom, friendship, and love.