* “A finely rendered portrait of two Southern abolitionist and civil-rights activists, and of the time in which they lived…. More than reporting the details of the Grimké sisters’ lives and deeds, interesting enough as they are, Perry offers a learned survey of American social history in the mid-19th century, providing a vivid account of the religious revival called the Second Great Awakening and connecting the quest of their contemporaries for earthly salvation to the sisters’ thwarted determination to lead lives of religious devotion…Engaging, intelligent, and likely to be of much interest to general readers, as well as of value in courses of American history, women’s studies, and African-American studies.—Kirkus, starred review
“The Grimkés’ personal struggles (the sisters’ search for religious fulfillment, the brothers’ pursuit of political satisfaction) and their published and unpublished works… hold the center to make this book eminently readable.”—Publishers Weekly
“We see in [the Grimkés’] troubles our own; in their triumphs our hope; and in their history, the history of our nation.”—LIFT UP THY VOICE, Prologue
Lift Up Thy VoiceChronology
Major Characters
Prologue:
“. . . we defied the law of South Carolina”
PART ONE: THE GRIMKÉ SISTERS
One:
“They shall be your bondmen for ever . . . “
Two:
“. . . a stern and relentless God”
Three:
“He trod the pulpit like a giant . . . “
Four:
“. . . and blood flowed in streams”
Five:
“The ground on which you stand is holy ground . . . “
PART TWO: THE GRIMKÉ FAMILY
Six:
“. . . lift up thy voice like a trumpet . . . “
Seven:
“. . . we will go and work together”
Eight:
“We Abolition Women are turning the world upside down . . .”
Nine:
“. . . that great earthquake . . . “
Ten:
“. . . go on! go on! . . . “
PART THREE: THE GRIMKÉ BROTHERS
Eleven:
“Everyone was for himself . . . “
Twelve:
“. . . through the lonely dark . . . “
Thirteen:
“A cowardly and sinful silence . . . “
Fourteen:
“. . . the means which God uses to arouse the sleeping conscience”
Fifteen:
“You hang him to a tree . . . “
Epilogue:
“. . . the crisis has come . . . “
Author’s Notes
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
