Book Description

Based on true events. When the remains of a gifted songstress and house servant named Danielle, is found in the wall of an abandoned Louisiana mansion on the Soileau Plantation in 1932, it sets off a media frenzy in the French and English-speaking parish of Lafayette. Through her younger sister, Alette, who travels from Chicago to identify the body, reporters learn the nature of Danielle's life on and off of the sugar plantation as a former child companion of the master's daughter. Known for her proficiency in herbal remedies, beauty, and likeness on the Soileau & Sons' rum and sugar product art, Danielle is flawed, yet favored by her lustful master, Demetre Soileau, and despised by his wife, Etiennette. Exposed to the society of Louisiana Creoles of color and free Blacks, regarded as the gens libre de couleur, Danielle catches the tender eye of a free mariner and business owner, Alphonse Santee, who is instrumental in her thirst for freedom, love, and her desire to mend her broken family torn apart by turmoil and Demetre. While Alphonse presents to her a love she never knew existed, Danielle reconsiders the fairy-tale lifestyle that she imagined she could acquire since childhood. When Danielle becomes pregnant, Etiennette threatens to torture the slave and her family if she learns that the child was truly conceived with Demetre, who, like Etiennette, is unaware that Danielle is involved in a love triangle.Song of Redemption is filled with the rich culture of multi-parishes west of the Mississippi River. It opens a window to aspects of pre-Civil War life rarely discussed in detail, such as the role and limitations of mariners of color, the use of African-American sign language, and the process and laws regarding marriage for enslaved or free southern Blacks. Malika Stevely's unique debut novel combines unforgettable storytelling with historical accounts, giving homage to those who were once voiceless, and inspiring generations to come.