In the vein of The Personal Librarian and The House of Eve, a “remarkable and stirring novel” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) based on the inspiring true story of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and the indomitable Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States.
Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achieve the same.
With her single-minded determination, Maggie buckled down and went from schoolteacher to secretary-treasurer of the Independent Order of St. Luke, founder of a newspaper, a bank, and a department store where Black customers were treated with respect. With the help of influential friends like W.E.B. DuBois and Mary McLeod, she revolutionized Richmond in ways that are still felt today. Now, “with rich period detail and emotional impact” (Tracey Enerson Wood, author of The Engineer’s Wife), her riveting full story is finally revealed in this stirring and intimate novel.
Genre: Historical
Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achieve the same.
With her single-minded determination, Maggie buckled down and went from schoolteacher to secretary-treasurer of the Independent Order of St. Luke, founder of a newspaper, a bank, and a department store where Black customers were treated with respect. With the help of influential friends like W.E.B. DuBois and Mary McLeod, she revolutionized Richmond in ways that are still felt today. Now, “with rich period detail and emotional impact” (Tracey Enerson Wood, author of The Engineer’s Wife), her riveting full story is finally revealed in this stirring and intimate novel.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"Watson has given us an extraordinary journey of a determined woman who, against the odds, reminds her community what can be accomplished when united around a common vision." - Kaia Alderson
"A character this richly complex and relentlessly determined deserves a place in the pantheon of great American entrepreneurs . . . Although our complicated racial history runs through this story, the author's skill as a novelist makes Walker's journey as enjoyable as it is inspiriting." - Pearl Cleage
"A Right Worthy Woman is a remarkable and stirring novel, a story destined to be told. Ruth P. Watson brings to vivid life a woman who changed history, a woman both determined and fascinating, a woman named Maggie Lena Walker. From the heartbreaking opening line to the closing scene, the reader is on a transformational journey as Maggie Lena Walker revolutionizes both Richmond, Virginia and women's history. Inspiring and rich with detail, this is your next book club read." - Patti Callahan Henry
"In A Right Worthy Woman, Watson lovingly crafts a jewel of a story to bring life back to Maggie Lena Walker'a genius Black financial wizard of Jim Crow-era Virginia. Readers will prize her amazing legacy as a welcome and crucial addition to the growing collection of historical fiction about unsung Black women's lives." - Piper Huguley
"History that's never been told is being shared by master storyteller Ruth Watson in such an epic way." - Brenda Jackson
"Maggie's story is one that needs to be told, not only to understand the past, but to inspire the present. Author Ruth P. Watson rivets the reader with rich period detail and emotional impact. A Right Worthy Woman is a literary journey to the deep and dark recesses of our history, one that we all would be better for taking." - Tracey Enerson Wood
"A character this richly complex and relentlessly determined deserves a place in the pantheon of great American entrepreneurs . . . Although our complicated racial history runs through this story, the author's skill as a novelist makes Walker's journey as enjoyable as it is inspiriting." - Pearl Cleage
"A Right Worthy Woman is a remarkable and stirring novel, a story destined to be told. Ruth P. Watson brings to vivid life a woman who changed history, a woman both determined and fascinating, a woman named Maggie Lena Walker. From the heartbreaking opening line to the closing scene, the reader is on a transformational journey as Maggie Lena Walker revolutionizes both Richmond, Virginia and women's history. Inspiring and rich with detail, this is your next book club read." - Patti Callahan Henry
"In A Right Worthy Woman, Watson lovingly crafts a jewel of a story to bring life back to Maggie Lena Walker'a genius Black financial wizard of Jim Crow-era Virginia. Readers will prize her amazing legacy as a welcome and crucial addition to the growing collection of historical fiction about unsung Black women's lives." - Piper Huguley
"History that's never been told is being shared by master storyteller Ruth Watson in such an epic way." - Brenda Jackson
"Maggie's story is one that needs to be told, not only to understand the past, but to inspire the present. Author Ruth P. Watson rivets the reader with rich period detail and emotional impact. A Right Worthy Woman is a literary journey to the deep and dark recesses of our history, one that we all would be better for taking." - Tracey Enerson Wood
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