Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson

 

Characters
Then	Now
Coventina Brown “Covey” Mathilda – mother, disappeared Johnny “Lin” Lyncook – father Pearl – family helper   Gibbs Grant - boyfriend   Bunny – Covey’s friend   Clarence Henry “Little Man” – was to marry Covey   “Short Shirt” Higgins – tried to poison Percival, took suspicion from Covey for Little Man’s death Percival Henry – Little Man’s brother   Eleanor (Covey) – raped by boss, gave daughter up for adoption   Eleanor Douglas “Elly” – killed in train crash, Covey took her identity	Eleanor Bennett – Covey Bert Bennett – Gibbs Bryon – son  Benedetta “Benny” – daughter   Lynette – Bryon’s girlfriend   Marble Martin – Eleanor’s daughter given up for adoption, cookbook author Husband – deceased Gio – son, boarding school   Etta “Bunny” Pringle – distance swimmer   Charles Martin - lawyer

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2022 paperback edition.

1.       As you were reading the book, who did you think the characters were in the Prologue?   How long did it take for you to figure out who everyone was?

2.       What was the message Pearl was sending Covey with the lilac flowers on top of the wedding cake?  “Finally, Covey understood what she was looking at.  It was a small consolation, but it was something” (page 120).

3.       Who did you think poisoned “Little Man?”  Why did Pearl have the bottle of poison?  We did not find out until the very end of the novel that it was Bunny who poisoned his champagne.  Were you surprised?  Bunny and Covey kept that secret for ever – would it have changed anything if the truth were known years later? 

4.       When Eleanor was pregnant with her first daughter, she was taken in by nuns who gave her no choice but to give up the baby for adoption.  How would keeping the baby have changed both Eleanor’s and Marble’s life?

5.       Eleanor decided the baby deserved “something that Eleanor was not.  Eleanor wanted to keep her baby, but she saw that who you knew yourself to be on the inside was not the same as how others saw you” (page 182).   Did you understand her decision?

6.       Twice the author used the phrase “kissed her teeth.”   What action do you think this is?

7.       Who do you think is responsible for the rift between Benny and her parents?  When she told her parents, Byron also did not reach out to her.   Given Eleanor’s history, do you think she should have been more understanding?   Who is to blame?

8.       At one point, Benny crashed a AAA meeting because she was looking for a place where she was unconditionally accepted.  She “was tired of having her authenticity as a person called into question simply because she did not fit the roles that others wanted her to play” (page 214).   It seemed that Eleanor could have easily understood this feeling.  Why do you think she did not?

9.       Discuss Byron.  He came and stayed with Eleanor and “did everything for his mother while Benny was off who know where” (page 224).   Did you understand his resentment?  Was there anything he could have done?

10.   Upon reflection after both of his parents passed away, Byron wondered “if his parents gave him a gift or did him a disservice to make him think all these years that he was something special” (page 278).  Now that he was alone, he didn’t “know anymore if his life has really made that much of a difference to anyone or anything” (page 278).  What insight did this give you into his character in the novel?   Did you think he was making a difference in the world?

11.   Did his repeated experiences of being pulled over while driving for no reason give you insight and any understanding of this situation faced by black males today?

12.   Was Eleanor right to keep the secrets from her husband and children for her entire life?

13.   Did you like the ending of the novel, the way many of the stories were wrapped up and resolved.   For example, what did you think of Mathilda’s story?  Would that have changed anything for Covey if she had known what had happened to her mother and that she had planned to come back for her?

14.   The Black Cake and recipe were the thread running throughout the novel and united several of the characters including Benny and Marble at the end.  Were you tempted to try the recipe?  Does your family have any food traditions?

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini

 

Elizabeth Keckley George – son of Alexander Kirkland (rape) James – husband, deceased   Emma – friend and seamstress   Clients: Varina Davis Mary Jane Welles – wife of Secretary of Navy Margaret Cameron - wife of Secretary of War Adele Douglas – widow of Stephen Douglas   Virginia Lewis – landlady   Garland family – former owners Miss Ann   Martha – friend from slavery days   Contraband Relief Association 1862 – 1865 Founded by Eliabeth and 40 women from her church   James Redpath – editor, G. W. Carleton and Co. Publishers   Bishop Daniel Payne - Wilberforce University in Ohio Offered Elizabeth position as head of the Department of Sewing and Domestic Sciences

Mary Todd Lincoln Abraham Lincoln Willie – son, deceased Robert – son, college, fought in war, became a lawyer Tad – son, died 1871   Emilie Helm – Mary Todd’s sister, widow of confederate general   Kate Chase – insulted Mrs. Lincoln, became social rivals Salmon Chase – father, Secretary of Treasury, Chief Justice Supreme Court   Cabinet Members and others Mary Todd had feuds with or did not like: Salmon Chase John George Nicolay – president’s personal secretary William Seward – Secretary of State Andrew Johnson General McClellan General Ulysses S. Grant   Jefferson Davis Varina – wife   William H. Herndan – Lincoln’s law partner, wrote book about Lincoln   Mr. Keyes and Mr. W. H. Brady – offered to sell clothing and jewelry

Behind the Scenes: or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth Keckley, 1868   Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, William Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, 1889

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2016 paperback edition.

1.       At the beginning of the war, it was thought it would only last a short period of time and recruits were only enlisted for 90 days.  Given that we know the length of the conflict and the massive number of deaths, how well did the author describe the feelings of the day?

2.       Mary Todd was criticized for her lavish spending, both on the restoration of the White House and, later, on herself.   Was this criticism justified or did she have a duty to keep up appearances?

3.       Even during the war, she continued to spend large amounts of money on her clothing.   Why was she not able to control her spending?

4.       Did you know that her family were all from the south and that her brother, three half-brothers and three brothers-in-law were serving in the Confederate Army?  In the south, where she grew up, she was considered a traitor.  How was she able to handle this conflict?

5.       Were you surprised that Elizabeth lied about being married to George’s father in order to get a pension?  Her advisors told her that George had earned the pension for her and two ministers vouched that she was telling the truth.

6.       Elizabeth kept following and visiting Mrs. Lincoln at the expense of her own business.  Was Mrs. Lincoln selfish or just unable to see the problems she was causing Elizabeth?

7.       The Contraband Relief Association decided to take a collection in the colored churches with the proceeds going to Mrs. Lincoln, but “she did not want to accept help from Negros” (page 301).   Why do you think she resisted this help?

8.       Many people who Mrs. Lincoln thought would help her actually betrayed her.  For example, letters she wrote to Mr. Keyes and Mr. Brady about selling her clothes and jewelry ended up being published in the newspaper and further damaged Mrs. Lincoln’s reputation.  Why was she not able to see what would happen?  Why did people treat her this way?

9.       Elizabeth wrote in the preface to her book, “Mrs. Lincoln, by her own acts, forced herself into notoriety.  She stepped beyond the formal lines which hedge about private life, and invited public criticism” (page 311).  Was this fair?

10.   Mrs.  Lincoln’s letters were published in Elizabeth’s book even though she expressly asked that they not be.  Her editor, Mr. Redpath, thought the letters were essential and that the entire book would improve Mrs.  Lincoln’s reputation.  What did you think?

11.   The book was not well received by both Mrs. Lincoln’s supporters and those who disliked her as well as the colored people who were afraid they would not be hired for fear they would write a book.   Was this understandable?  Fair?

12.   What did you think of Robert’s care for his mother?  He had her declared insane and committed from 1875 to 1876. Was he correct in his actions?

13.   Did you learn anything new about this period in our history?