Frances E. W. Harper's Iola Leroy

In this episode of Remarkable Receptions, Emily VanDette discusses student responses to Iola Leroy (1892) by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. 

She observes that "While many twentieth-century responses to Iola Leroy dismissed the novel mainly for its sentimentalism and seemingly moderate politics, college students are often excited to discuss the subtle radicalism of the novel. In their writing assignments and classroom discussions, they notice that Harper paints a vivid picture of the Black-centered communities, families, churches, and schools that were sites of reunion and healing." 

 

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