*2016 Book Excellence Award Finalist!* Wissahickon Souls, fills a gap in American memory that marginalizes 19th-century African-American lives. Set in Philadelphia and Haiti during the years 1806 to 1836, Wissahickon Souls shows how a culture of racial prejudice contaminates the relationship of even well-meaning people. All the while, the Wissahickon Creek wends its way equally through the lives of blacks and whites. Claire Penniman is an improbable hero who defies racial expectations. Born to free black parents, she is indentured to Wissahickon Farm at the age of 6. From her birth in 1806 in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia to the story's end in 1836, Clair struggles to forge a future determined by the call of her soul rather than the color of her skin. Along the way, she confronts slave catchers, helps fugitive slaves, marries her indenture holder's youngest son and with him, runs away to Haiti, where their marriage is accepted. After 10 years, in 1834 they return to a Philadelphia beset by riots and hate. Wissahickon Souls is a story of love, regret and reconciliation. The novel invites readers to walk alongside characters they come to know as friends. Though Claire's world defines people by the color of their skin, Claire's destiny is to bear witness to the truth that illuminates the color of souls.
Author Biography
After a civilian career with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, P.J. Devlin decided to pursue an MFA in Fiction from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, where she studied with Susan Shreve, Alan Cheuse and Courtney Brkic. Devlin tells stories about relationships. Her characters meet at the intersection of acceptance and rejection and their choices impel them to understand what it means to be human. Whether writing of a witch, a dwarf, an elderly woman, or a black indentured servant, Devlin's characters exist in the Philadelphia of her birth and share her love of the Wissahickon Creek. Prior to finishing her first novel, P.J. had two short stories published: "The Witch" in Rose Red Review and "The Decline and Fall" in Saturday Evening Post.
