The Ladies Hall

A Novel

De: Vanessa Miller

Narrado por: Angel Pean

The lives of real heroes prove this truth: equality is won when we rise together.

1880s, Ohio. When Mary and Anna enter the Bachelor of Arts program, also known as the "gentlemen's course" of study, at Oberlin College, they have little in common other than the color of their skin and their passion for education.

While Mary was raised in luxury, attending presidential inaugurations with her wealthy father, Anna is a schoolteacher, likely the daughter of her enslaved mother's former owner, and works a second job to pay for her room and board. But despite their differences, both women share strength, ambition, and a deep yearning for change. If they can bridge the gaps between them, they just might build a lasting legacy.

From its earliest days in the 1830s, Oberlin College admitted men and women, white and Black students. Though the doors are officially open, school policy cannot change the hearts of classmates who refuse to see a woman, and especially a Black woman, excel. Despite constantly being forced to prove themselves, the women triumphantly overcome every obstacle and push through their pain. And as the world evolves around them, Mary and Anna persevere to build a legacy of success and excellence.

Based on the real lives of Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida Gibbs Hunt, The Ladies Hall is a mirror into times of great change--where progress and new possibilities are met with violence and resistance . . . but hope always rises. And it rises still.

A map, references, and a discussion guide can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Reseñas de la Crítica

'THE LADIES HALL, the fictionalized account of Mary Church Terrell, Ida Gibbs Hunt, and Anna Julia Cooper's time at Oberlin, flung me, headlong, into reminiscences of my girlhood: crisp Easter clothes, the careful memorization of a monologue, a full-pewed church of elders, expectant that you will be great . . . and the trembly bravery of thinking you might be. Miller, in efficient, tender, and resonant manner, conjures how these women, just years removed from slavery, managed not only to graduate from this rigorous program but excel in the face of adversity, and this work made me feel immensely proud.'