Amity by Nathan Harris

In 1864 Wyatt Harper, once deputy surveyor for the Confederate government, left to seek opportunities across the border in Mexico after the civil war loss. Mrs. Harper, and their daughter Florence were sent to family in Baton Rouge, New Orleans with their servant, formerly enslaved, nineteen-year-old Coleman. He and his older sister, June, had been wedding presents from Mrs. Harper’s parents when they were just ten and twelve, and growing up in the house together Florence and June had been like sisters. With slavery abolished they stayed on as family servants, but June became a favourite with Mr. Harper, and when he left for Mexico he took her with him. Two years later, after having heard nothing, Amos Turlow arrives with a letter from Mr Harper resulting in Mrs Harper, Florence and Coleman, with the dog, Oliver, setting out for Mexico to be reunited, Coleman seizing the only chance he will have to find June, Florence resolved to reclaim her father. After departing from New Orleans on a steamer with Turlow as escort the women enjoy the luxury and social life on board, but it is not long before disaster strikes, changing the quest to a struggle for survival.

Through sustained, reflective storytelling Harris develops the central characters gradually revealing what drives them. The enslaved June and Coleman might have been freed but a lifetime of servitude has robbed them of the ability to control their own lives. For June, having to rise to “the obligations of the day” has given her stamina and resilience while Coleman’s gentle nature, determined innocence and love of learning make the courage he must find, facing his fear of the unknown, quite remarkable. Florence and Coleman find themselves unwilling companions, relying on each other for survival, stripped of all support, Florence’s determined pragmatism is able to push them forward at the worst of times and the dog becomes their wild card, a go between whose unconditional affection gets them out of some sticky situations without violence. The unfamiliar desert setting of the Mexican borderlands, contested, each with their own agenda, by the French, Americans, Indians, Mexicans and those escaping the fallout of enslavement, makes an interesting backdrop to a little-known aspect of  history.

Themes: Historical fiction, American Civil War era, Mexican borderlands, Courage, Freedom, Adventure.

Sue Speck