Mumbet: The Life and Times of Elizabeth Freeman : The True Story of a Slave Who Won Her Freedom (Avisson Young Adult Series) [Library Binding]

Mary Wilds (Author)

Book Description

Series: Avisson Young Adult Series

A biography of the eighteenth-century female slave whose court case helped to set precedents that would bar slavery in Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 UpThis book is, in fact, as much (or more) about Revolutionary American times and attitudes about slavery as it is about Elizabeth Freeman. This is because not much is known about MumBets life and the author has, therefore, filled in with a lot of history. The book is a bit confusing and somewhat dry, but there is a lot of information about the lives of African Americans in Colonial society, all meticulously footnoted within the text. Because there is only one primary account of MumBets personal life, Wilds turns to suppositional statements such as One can safely assume that and must have been to flesh out the lack of detail. When facts are available, MumBet comes across as a woman of strong character. In her portrait, the one illustration in the book, her face bespeaks determination and dignity. An additional purchase for history shelves rather than the biography section.Randi Hacker, Montgomery Elementary School, VT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In 1781, a black slave, MumBet (aka Elizabeth Freeman), heard the Declaration of Independence read at a town meeting in Sheffield, Massachusetts. The next day she went to a local attorney and asked him to file a lawsuit demanding her freedom. Two years later, MumBet won her lawsuit and became a free woman. Her trial helped set the legal precedents that ended slavery in New England. This brief biography gives the basics of MumBet's life and describes the troubled times in which she lived. There are tantalizing glimpses of a remarkable woman of action--a woman who dared to defy her cruel mistress and was scarred for life with a red-hot shovel as a result; a woman who foiled looters during Shay's Rebellion; a woman who made a new life for herself. Young adults will remember MumBet and her passionate outburst: "Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute's freedom had been offered to me and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it, just to stand one minute on God's earth a free woman, I would." Bibliography with primary and secondary sources; end notes. Jean Franklin

Product Details

• Library Binding: 104 pages
• Publisher: Avisson Pr Inc; 1st edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888105402
• ISBN-13: 978-1888105407
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,509,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Shivi's Review, November 30, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Mumbet: The Life and Times of Elizabeth Freeman : The True Story of a Slave Who Won Her Freedom (Avisson Young Adult Series) (Library Binding)

It's a good book if you are looking for information on Mumbet like i was. I used it for the school project i had to do.

3.0 out of 5 stars Justice in a Connecticut Courtroom, December 5, 2002

By 

Plume45 "kitka12345" (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mumbet: The Life and Times of Elizabeth Freeman : The True Story of a Slave Who Won Her Freedom (Avisson Young Adult Series) (Library Binding)

This concise but interesting book is an excellent biography of a courageous and gifted Black woman in the post-Colonial era. With self-composure she fought for her freedom--not by using violence, but by working within the Law, to ultimately receive her moral due: Justice in a Connecticut courtroom.

Consisting of an introduction and 15 short chpaers, this modest volume depicts her focused struggle to enjoy the same liberty which the Colonists had recently bought so dearly. In her pursuit of jusice Mumbet earns the respect of her lawyer and second master/employer. She performs all household duties with skill and modesty: nurse, housekeeper, even defender of the hearth during the master's absence. Mumbet pursues her lonely dream of freedom some 35 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, achieving her goal legally and with great personal dignity. I had never heard of this courageous woman before, I am ashamed to confess, so this little book is a perfect introduction to students of Black history, as well as Women's Studies in general. Very readable and inspiring re overcoming obstacles with patience, perseverence and peace.