Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
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- Create Date：2022-06-29 06:52:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rebecca Hall
- ISBN：198211519X
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Summary
A Best Book of 2021 by NPR and The Washington Post
Part graphic novel， part memoir， Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the “powerful” （The New York Times Book Review） story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall’s efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who， until now， have been left out of the historical record。
Women warriors planned and led revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage。 They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas。 And then they were erased from history。
Wake tells the “riveting” （Angela Y。 Davis） story of Dr。 Rebecca Hall， a historian， granddaughter of slaves， and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery。 The accepted history of slave revolts has always told her that enslaved women took a back seat。 But Rebecca decides to look deeper， and her journey takes her through old court records， slave ship captain’s logs， crumbling correspondence， and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the “negro burying ground” uncovered in Manhattan。 She finds women warriors everywhere。
Using a “remarkable blend of passion and fact， action and reflection” （NPR）， Rebecca constructs the likely pasts of Adono and Alele， women rebels who fought for freedom during the Middle Passage， as well as the stories of women who led slave revolts in Colonial New York。 We also follow Rebecca’s own story as the legacy of slavery shapes her life， both during her time as a successful attorney and later as a historian seeking the past that haunts her。
Illustrated beautifully in black and white， Wake will take its place alongside classics of the graphic novel genre， like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Art Spiegelman’s Maus。 This story of a personal and national legacy is a powerful reminder that while the past is gone， we still live in its wake。
Part graphic novel， part memoir， Wake is an imaginative tour-de-force that tells the “powerful” （The New York Times Book Review） story of women-led slave revolts and chronicles scholar Rebecca Hall’s efforts to uncover the truth about these women warriors who， until now， have been left out of the historical record。
Women warriors planned and led revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage。 They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas。 And then they were erased from history。
Wake tells the “riveting” （Angela Y。 Davis） story of Dr。 Rebecca Hall， a historian， granddaughter of slaves， and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery。 The accepted history of slave revolts has always told her that enslaved women took a back seat。 But Rebecca decides to look deeper， and her journey takes her through old court records， slave ship captain’s logs， crumbling correspondence， and even the forensic evidence from the bones of enslaved women from the “negro burying ground” uncovered in Manhattan。 She finds women warriors everywhere。
Using a “remarkable blend of passion and fact， action and reflection” （NPR）， Rebecca constructs the likely pasts of Adono and Alele， women rebels who fought for freedom during the Middle Passage， as well as the stories of women who led slave revolts in Colonial New York。 We also follow Rebecca’s own story as the legacy of slavery shapes her life， both during her time as a successful attorney and later as a historian seeking the past that haunts her。
Illustrated beautifully in black and white， Wake will take its place alongside classics of the graphic novel genre， like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Art Spiegelman’s Maus。 This story of a personal and national legacy is a powerful reminder that while the past is gone， we still live in its wake。
Reviews
Sonia
，
Absolutely required reading。 The combination of a rarely-told history of women-led slave revolts with a dissection of the process of doing historical research makes it ideal as an educational tool， but even more than that， this is history as truth-telling， as revelation， as call to action。
Kaya W。
，
I expected to read about revolts that were led by women not the process for finding a lack of information on the subject。 The title is a bit deceiving。
Shakira
，
Wow！ What a well researched revelation of a novel。 The graphics amplified Hall's message。 It was thr driving underscore to the story's messages。 Wow！ What a well researched revelation of a novel。 The graphics amplified Hall's message。 It was thr driving underscore to the story's messages。 。。。more
Molly Dettmann
，
A powerful and poignant look at how much history has been erased when it comes to the stories of enslaved individuals and one scholar’s work to uncover it， particularly that of women-led slave revolts。 This also read as part memoir with the author’s own journey through archives and painful personal history。 I’m only knocking it a star because the font for the lettering was often really small and hard to read sometimes and blended in with the artwork a little too much。
Mark Robison
，
Graphic novel that tells the story of a historian trying to find evidence of women-led revolts on slave ships。 Every bit of it was fascinating: the glimpses into slave revolts （women were kept top side on the ships and unchained because they were "just" women， and they would sneak weapons to the men down in the hold）， the financial aspects such as how Lloyd's of London got rich insuring slave ships including against revolts， and especially the author's travails as a woman of color being stymied Graphic novel that tells the story of a historian trying to find evidence of women-led revolts on slave ships。 Every bit of it was fascinating: the glimpses into slave revolts （women were kept top side on the ships and unchained because they were "just" women， and they would sneak weapons to the men down in the hold）， the financial aspects such as how Lloyd's of London got rich insuring slave ships including against revolts， and especially the author's travails as a woman of color being stymied again and again while simply conducting research， which shows that， although we've made progress， there's a ways to go。The art reminded me of illustrations in 19th century true crime newspapers。 My only quibble involved the text blocks。 They were too small for my old eyes so I got the Kindle version， which was way better， but the panel-to-panel swiping wasn't always perfect so I still had to zoom in a fair number of times to read the text。 I honestly couldn't have finished the paper version。 But the content was strong enough， I knew I had to find a way。 。。。more
Jillian
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4。25 stars Really enjoyed this graphic novel memoir/historical nonfiction。 It reminded me how little I was actually taught in school and how history is often written and interpreted by certain groups， silencing other peoples' stories。 It was annoying how Rebecca couldn't find she was looking for， either because it was never written down or people got in the way。 There are probably more stories than we know， but we're never going to hear them， especially if they are about women and/or people of c 4。25 stars Really enjoyed this graphic novel memoir/historical nonfiction。 It reminded me how little I was actually taught in school and how history is often written and interpreted by certain groups， silencing other peoples' stories。 It was annoying how Rebecca couldn't find she was looking for， either because it was never written down or people got in the way。 There are probably more stories than we know， but we're never going to hear them， especially if they are about women and/or people of color。 I almost gave this book a higher rating， but the pacing was off。 I felt as though the story jumped around and didn't stay on course， but I wanted to keep reading whenever I could。 I had to find out what Rebecca learned in her research。 And I was not disappointed with what she did find or what she was able to come up with。 。。。more
Jeni Enjaian
，
（If you happened to read a prior version of this review， you read my accidental copy and paste of my review for the Percy Jackson graphic novels。）I picked up this book because I had seen it on the Goodreads Choice awards list for graphic novels and comics （so named even though they never have comics on the nominee list） and found myself intrigued by the concept。Rebecca Hall and illustrator Hugo Martinez join forces to create a powerful graphic memoir that explores the historiography of slavery， （If you happened to read a prior version of this review， you read my accidental copy and paste of my review for the Percy Jackson graphic novels。）I picked up this book because I had seen it on the Goodreads Choice awards list for graphic novels and comics （so named even though they never have comics on the nominee list） and found myself intrigued by the concept。Rebecca Hall and illustrator Hugo Martinez join forces to create a powerful graphic memoir that explores the historiography of slavery， focusing on the far too often forgotten women。 In the memoir portion of the novel， Hall describes her often-times frustrating search through the records to find information， any information， about the women who participated in different slave revolts throughout American history。 As someone who had to delve into the murky waters of archives for my Masters' thesis， I resonated strongly with this section and loved the fact that she showed the frustrations of trying to tell these stories。Hugo Martinez' illustrations made this book a must-read。 He uses reflections， in water， mirrors， windows and much more， to reveal so much。 Words alone cannot describe how powerful his imagery is。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more
Emily
，
This is another great graphic novel about generation healing。 This book follows the experience of a historian working to uncover the history about women led slave revolts。 She reads through captains logs， court records and all sorts of ship manifests to understand the role of women rising up。 The heartbreaking history of slavery that is part of our society is important to understand。 I’m learning that healing as a nation happens through listening and learning from the past lives of those who end This is another great graphic novel about generation healing。 This book follows the experience of a historian working to uncover the history about women led slave revolts。 She reads through captains logs， court records and all sorts of ship manifests to understand the role of women rising up。 The heartbreaking history of slavery that is part of our society is important to understand。 I’m learning that healing as a nation happens through listening and learning from the past lives of those who endured so much。 。。。more
Beth Bauman
，
A well-done book， part history lesson， part historical fiction （though mostly the "historical" part）。 It basically tells the story of the author， Dr。 Rebecca Hall and her search as a historian for the hidden stories of women-led slave revolts。 There is a lot of anger and distress in this book， and in turn made me angry at how people treat other people， both in the past and today。 There is no reprieve of it in this book: pages about the tragedy of the slave trade are offset by pages depicting the A well-done book， part history lesson， part historical fiction （though mostly the "historical" part）。 It basically tells the story of the author， Dr。 Rebecca Hall and her search as a historian for the hidden stories of women-led slave revolts。 There is a lot of anger and distress in this book， and in turn made me angry at how people treat other people， both in the past and today。 There is no reprieve of it in this book: pages about the tragedy of the slave trade are offset by pages depicting the author's modern-day encounters with racism as a Black historian。 So sad。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
1
Kristine S-Z
，
If you're looking for a book that's a deep dive into women-led slave revolts， that is not this book （though， considering the author is literally center on the cover， I feel that this should be a little obvious）。 Instead， this is book about the author's research for her dissertation intermingled with some of her findings。 As someone entering a PhD in history， it was very exciting to read a book that included the historical research process！ Hall covers a range of emotions and difficulties in her If you're looking for a book that's a deep dive into women-led slave revolts， that is not this book （though， considering the author is literally center on the cover， I feel that this should be a little obvious）。 Instead， this is book about the author's research for her dissertation intermingled with some of her findings。 As someone entering a PhD in history， it was very exciting to read a book that included the historical research process！ Hall covers a range of emotions and difficulties in her research， both in the lack of information and in the subject material。 I've read some of the negative reviews that I feel like should be reflected on。 The author isn't looking at telling the entire story from her research--mostly because there is so little information。 If you want to find more information on her research， you can look through her bibliography or her dissertation， which will be much richer。 Because that is not this book。As for the white characters all being drawn frowning and only hindering her work， this is true。 Her partner is the only white character shown to support her。 However， this is very deliberate as the book is about a black woman researching slavery。 During that time， she must have felt （and experienced） white people making her work difficult and looking at her negatively。 This isn't a book that should have to show white people also supporting her so that white people reading it can feel more comfortable。 White people should not feel comfortable at all while reading this。 Further， I would argue that her research itself is a women-led revolt。 So all of the white people in the modern world are drawn as parallels to the slave-trade people。 Anyway， I thought a lot of what I'm writing was obvious but apparently some people reading it didn't understand these points。 。。。more
Carol Storm
，
"The Spook。 He likes midnight best。 Some say that's when he was born。 But others say that's when he DIED！"Sorry， that's not from this book。 That's from Eerie magazine， when I was a fifth grader almost fifty years ago！ The thing is， Eerie was a comic book that kids read strictly for kicks。 And yet writers like Doug Moench created unforgettable characters like the Spook， a living dead man on a Louisiana slave plantation who made life hell for the slave traders。 This book， well， the author means we "The Spook。 He likes midnight best。 Some say that's when he was born。 But others say that's when he DIED！"Sorry， that's not from this book。 That's from Eerie magazine， when I was a fifth grader almost fifty years ago！ The thing is， Eerie was a comic book that kids read strictly for kicks。 And yet writers like Doug Moench created unforgettable characters like the Spook， a living dead man on a Louisiana slave plantation who made life hell for the slave traders。 This book， well， the author means well。 But I'm afraid it's not exactly up to Cousin Eerie's standards。 Tiny， tiny print so nobody over forty can read it。 Slow， slow， exposition so kids will be bored to death。 And illustrations that are absolutely static。 I mean， a slave ship frozen in place with tons of dialogue boxes all around it。 This will make kids read？ 。。。more
Cook Memorial Public Library
，
This 2021 staff nonfiction favorite is recommended by Nate and Joe。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 This 2021 staff nonfiction favorite is recommended by Nate and Joe。 Check our catalog: https://encore。cooklib。org/iii/encore。。。 。。。more
Katie A
，
This book was phenomenal。 The care， precision， interconnections， hurt， love and connection was breathtaking。 First this book provided a rich account of the continual legacy of slavery on American society。 The way slavery created America， and further it’s legacies are apparent in every structure of our society （including legal， political， social and more）。 The most interesting portrayal of the way structural racism legacy is the way it dictates history and story telling。 Even more specifically th This book was phenomenal。 The care， precision， interconnections， hurt， love and connection was breathtaking。 First this book provided a rich account of the continual legacy of slavery on American society。 The way slavery created America， and further it’s legacies are apparent in every structure of our society （including legal， political， social and more）。 The most interesting portrayal of the way structural racism legacy is the way it dictates history and story telling。 Even more specifically the way it dictates silences。 “For hundreds of years our ancestors were brutally silenced。 I wasn’t supposed to find their voices。 But sometimes when you think you’re hunting down the past。 The past is hunting you。 I was born to tell these stories。” In considering the narratives of history there is also a look at the intersection of being a slave and a woman。 “And I am certain that the reason this was never classified as a revolt was because it was a woman who led it。 And historians teach that women didn’t do this kind of thing。 They might kill their masters in some feminine fit of pique but that’s different from participating in， or even planning a revolt。” This look at women in slavery shows that intersectionality is not a new phenomenon of the 21st century but a tool necessary to understand our past and the way we construct stories of histories。 Further， it challenges the ideas of 2nd wave feminism that places white women as those at the forefront of pushing female liberation。 Instead， it’s clear that Black women were central to fighting liberation in the form of liberation from slavery。 However， we do not hear these stories as these women are dismissed as having “feminine piques” Another main strength of this book was the emphasis on connection。 This makes me think to a work by Jodi Melamed in Racial Capitalism。 Melamed argues that the main way racial capitalism self-sustains is by disconnecting authentic connections ignorer to foster bonds that support captialism。 In this novel there is a clear effort for connections。 This includes connections with revolutionary Black female thinkers。 These thinkers are used to bolster personal reflections and reflections。 As Audre Lorde said: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence， it is self-preservation， and that is an act of political welfare” The second form of connection central to this novel is the bonds with ancestors and Black women fighting slavery。 This historical conneciton also helps further blur the ideas that slaver （and racism） are a separate binary from our current day。 “This work I’m doing is hard and it hurts。 It hurts so bad。 Yes grandmother， you survived even thrived， though you were born a slave。 I don’t know how our people could survive slavery but we did。 And now I have to believe if they could survive that we can survive today。” It also creates such a personal and emotional portray of historical documents and history。 Overall， this book is a must read。 I learnt so much and I am so grateful for the hours spent creating this masterpiece of a book 。。。more
Janet
，
This is a powerful novel which deserves multiple reads to really take in the message。
Fatima Mehjabin
，
Eye-opening and harrowing recount of the women-led slave revolts and slavery in general。 I really enjoyed the part memoir part graphic novel format - it all the more enhanced the message Dr Hall was trying to get across。 The art style was simply eye-catching！ Dr Hall’s efforts definitely shone through in the story。 Certain aspects were humorous too which made me enjoy the book even more。 So glad I chanced upon this graphic novel in the library。 Highly recommend everyone to read as it really chal Eye-opening and harrowing recount of the women-led slave revolts and slavery in general。 I really enjoyed the part memoir part graphic novel format - it all the more enhanced the message Dr Hall was trying to get across。 The art style was simply eye-catching！ Dr Hall’s efforts definitely shone through in the story。 Certain aspects were humorous too which made me enjoy the book even more。 So glad I chanced upon this graphic novel in the library。 Highly recommend everyone to read as it really challenges what you know about slavery in the past no matter how aware you are/how much knowledge you have。 。。。more
Sarah
，
I found the content fascinating but did not love the art style。
Jüülæ
，
a historical insight on slavery along with hall's personal experience of racism with haunting illustrations。 very depressing but informative。 i'm very glad she wrote this book to tell tales of slave rebellion originally intended to be erased a historical insight on slavery along with hall's personal experience of racism with haunting illustrations。 very depressing but informative。 i'm very glad she wrote this book to tell tales of slave rebellion originally intended to be erased 。。。more
Madeleine
，
3。5 stars
Virginia
，
This reminds me of Belonging in its descriptions of primary historical research mixed with personal narrative。 They are both about historical atrocities and how we might digest our relationship to them as decedents to the perpetrators and/or survivors。 This graphic novel corrects some myths and misinformation in our history books。 It ends on a hopeful note as the reimagined heroine of yore dies in the waves but not in vain and not forgotten: striving and fighting for a better future， weapon in h This reminds me of Belonging in its descriptions of primary historical research mixed with personal narrative。 They are both about historical atrocities and how we might digest our relationship to them as decedents to the perpetrators and/or survivors。 This graphic novel corrects some myths and misinformation in our history books。 It ends on a hopeful note as the reimagined heroine of yore dies in the waves but not in vain and not forgotten: striving and fighting for a better future， weapon in hand。 。。。more
Lia Mey
，
Absolutely necessary reading if one is an American and cares about making our country live up to the documents we hold dear。 It was incredible how much was covered up and continues to be covered up about slavery。 AMAZING research and presentation！
rather_b_reading
，
This is another important graphic novel to read。 I wish that Hall had been able to find more information about the women lead slave revolts。 The fact that this is her journey intermixed with history and her reimagining of historical events is powerful， but just highlights the fact that there is still so much to learn about history。 The ending felt rushed， but I highly recommend。
Daniel Pritchard
，
4。5 - the author's role in the story and her own experiences made this really interesting。 4。5 - the author's role in the story and her own experiences made this really interesting。 。。。more
Books Over People
，
I think this should be reclassified as a memoir。 It is only tangentially about the title。
Brady
，
Beautiful illustrations and I loved the historians perspective
Marni
，
The best graphic novel I have read。 I will be thinking about this for a long time。
Mickey Bits
，
Despite the far-left political bias， it is an interesting and original look at some lesser-known chapters in history。 Great title for engaging reluctant teen readers。
RachelAnne
，
Gut-wrenching and strangely hopeful， this is a beautiful exploration of how traumatic racial history both haunts and energizes one descendant of slaves。 The book is necessarily speculative， and powerfully told in images and language。
Ruth
，
Very moving with stark artwork。
Julie
，