Ethan J. Kytle is a professor of history at California State
University, Fresno and the author of Romantic Reformers and the
Antislavery Struggle in the Civil War Era. Kytle lives in Fresno,
California.
Blain Roberts is a professor of history at California State
University, Fresno and the author of Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty
Women. She lives in Fresno, California.
Praise for Denmark Vesey's Garden:
One of Janet Maslin's Favorite Books of 2018, The New York
Times
One of John Warner's Favorite Books of 2018, Chicago Tribune
Named one of the "Best Civil War Books of 2018" by the Civil War
Monitor
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018
2018 George C. Rogers Jr. Book Award Finalist
Named one of the "Summer Books 2018" selection by Times Literary
Supplement
Named one of the "17 Refreshing Books to Read This Summer" by The
New York Times
"A rigorous and timely study."
—Black Perspectives
"Those who dismiss contemporary opposition to the Calhoun Monument
as misplaced 'political correctness,' need to read Denmark Vesey's
Garden, which shows the deep provenance of black Charlestonian's
opposition to both Calhoun the man and the symbol."
—The Post and Courier (Charleston)
"A fascinating and important new historical study. Denmark Vesey's
Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy, by
Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts, examines Charleston as the
capital of slavery in the United States and, therefore, the place
where the ways slavery is remembered matter most. This book
examines rival sets of memories: from a segregated tourism
industry, which not long ago gave out different sets of information
to different people, to today's fights over Civil War
monuments."
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Denmark Vesey's Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the
Confederacy is vital to understanding some of the deepest fault
lines in American life. . . . An excellent history of the divergent
views of slavery."
—Shelf Awareness
"A stunning contribution to the historiography of Civil War memory
studies [that link] the memories and actions of black and white
Charlestonians over the years to the present-day ideas motivating
extremists like Dylann Roof. . . . This book speaks to the present
as eloquently as it narrates the past."
—Civil War Times
"The authors do an excellent job of tracing and exploring those
competing visions [of slavery]. . . enriched by insightful
analyses. . . . Those who read it will not just learn how the
institution has been remembered but also wrestle with the
ramification of America's slave past for its present and
future."
—Civil War Book Review
"A timely, well-researched, and deftly argued intervention with
both scholarly and public importance."
—Tropics of Meta
"[A] timely look at America's contested past. . . . Strongly
recommended for anyone interested in or hoping to understand more
about southern history, especially the ongoing debate over the
representation of slavery and the Confederacy."
—Library Journal
"Kytle and Robert's combination of encyclopedic knowledge of
Charleston's history and empathy with its inhabitants' past and
present struggle make them ideal guides to this troubled
history."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Eye-opening history . . . an important and fascinating examination
of American slavery’s aftermath.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Denmark Vesey's Garden uses the small place of Charleston, South
Carolina, to tell a large tale, what we remember of history and
what we prefer to forget. It is a fascinating and unflinching
performance, showing that all of American history can inhabit a few
greying square miles."
—Edward Ball, National Book Award–winning author of Slaves in the
Family
“Nothing has shaped this nation more than slavery and its legacy.
Kytle and Roberts’s meticulous research, compelling writing, and
thoughtful analysis are vital to our nation at a time when we are
haunted by a history we need to understand more deeply.”
—Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy:
A Story of Justice and Redemption
"Denmark Vesey's Garden reveals that the long struggle over how
Americans remember slavery has been inseparable from the long
struggle for racial justice."
—Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from
the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in
America
"Ethan Kytle and Blain Roberts remind us that the cost of
whitewashing the history of racial enslavement and its legacies
continues to be too great a burden to bear for American democracy.
For any reader interested in current political debates over Civil
War memory and monuments, this book is a must-read."
—Manisha Sinha, Frederick Douglass Book Prize–winning author of The
Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition
"Denmark Vesey's Garden will have enormous implications for the
entire country."
—Douglas Egerton, author of Year of Meteors, Thunder at the Gates,
and The Wars of Reconstruction
"Readers are drawn into a community where the shadows of slavery
are ever-present and white and black Charlestonians jockey for
influence over whether and how those shadows are acknowledged."
—Fitzhugh Brundage, William B. Umstead Distinguished Professor,
University of North Carolina
"Kytle and Roberts's engaging style will remind readers of Edward
Ball's work, Slaves in the Family, providing a new window onto the
Charleston past and delivering an important message for the
present."
—Catherine Clinton, Denman Chair of American History, University of
Texas, San Antonio, and president, Southern Historical
Association
"Nuanced, beautifully written, and well researched, Denmark Vesey's
Garden will interest specialized scholars, graduate and
undergraduate students, and ordinary readers who want to understand
how the slave past shapes debates on race in the United States. For
scholars working on the memory of slavery in other parts of the
Atlantic world, this book provides a landmark to develop
comparative studies and is also a rich model to be followed."
—Ana Lucia Araujo, The American Historical Review
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