The Price of a Child: A Novel [Paperback]

Lorene Cary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 1996

With Price of a Child--the story of Ginnie Pryor (cook, mistress and servant to a Virginia planter) and her struggle with slavery in 1855--Cary continues has created a work that elevates the reputation she created with Black Ice, her memoir which won her comparisons to Maya Angelou and Richard Wright. In a novel that examines the price of freedom and the value of a child's life, Price of a Child is "a stunning achievement...a deeply engrossing story.... Cary's impeccable research and seamless narrative carry us along" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An intimate, gripping novel of the antebellum Underground Railroad, based on the true story of a valiant Philadelphia freedwoman. This is the first novel we have had from the author of Black Ice, the stunning memoir of a black student's experience at a New England prep school in the 1970s. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Set during the antebellum period, Carey's first novel tells of a woman who escapes from slavery only to be haunted by the memory of the baby she had to leave behind.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679744673
• ISBN-13: 978-0679744672
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...a thought provoking narrative about slavery and freedom, November 3, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Price of a Child: A Novel (Paperback)

In _The Price of a Child: A Novel_, author, Lorene Cary, provides a narrative account of the legacy of people who have been torn away from their families on one continent and enslaved in another. _The Price of a Child_ is about the price of human dignity for all, the descendants of both the enslaved and their captors.

Ginnie Pryor escapes from her owner, with two of her three children, while traveling in one of the northern "free" states, only to find that neither her African nor her European compatriots are free from the legacies of slavery. In this story the former slave establishes intimate relationships within the Quick family as she tries to discover the meaning of freedom and her own identity. The historical setting, the poignant theme of her missing child and Ginnie's provocative presentations to nineteenth century abolitionists provide a background for exploring realities about race relations in past and present centuries. This book has messages that endure long after the last page. It is a good foundation for many discussions about the legacies of racism that need to be addressed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be ready to get sucked into a new world, March 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Price of a Child: A Novel (Paperback)

This book had me hooked by the 10th page. Knowing that this is based on a true story makes it really pop out. This is a story everybody should read. Open your eyes and join a new world.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Story, A Powerful History, April 7, 2003

By 

Kenneth Young (Elkins Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Price of a Child: A Novel (Paperback)

With her novelization of the life of a freewoman who made the terrible choice to leave one of her children behind in claiming freedom for herself and two other children, Lorene Cary takes us into a vivid land of history and humanity in pre-war Philadelphia. As a modern novel, <em>Price</em> is not only accessible, it provides engaging characters and a resonant story.

First and foremost, <em>Price</em> is the tale of Virginia (Ginnie), now named Mercer Gray, and her transition from slavery to vigilant freedom. Cary takes Mercer through a very human path, with attempts to reconcile her desires for freedom, self-sufficiency and some kind of comfort or security, with the costs of that freedom and her duty to both those that have helped her and the price that she paid for her freedom. The Quick family, a multigenerational mesh of survivors and hangers on, gives a rich field for Mercer to grow in.

<em>Price</em> stands as complement to the slavery-era narratives from which it draws. Written in a more modern English, and with the liberty to have been crafted for drama as well as truth, <em>Price</em> could very easily serve as an introduction to a genre of historical literature that can be daunting for both its content and language. Cary also has the liberty to go further into the awkward or accusatory truths that free black people of the era may have often self-censored for fear of alienating their supporters.

Chosen as the key book for the One Book, One Philadelphia project, Cary's work has the kind of Easter Eggs familiar to those who personally know where a book is set. Cary's early years and childhood in Philadelphia, and current residence here, provide another tie for the city to give back some Love.

Overall an excellent book.