The Black Rose

May 29, 2000
An entrepreneur and an innovator in African-American hair care became the first black female millionaire in America. The life of this historical figure, born Sarah Breedlove, was researched heavily by Alex Haley and proves to be a rich subject for Due, who relied on interviews, letters and other data compiled by the late author of Roots. The strong-willed heroine was born in Delta, La., in the 1860s to sharecropper parents, and was orphaned at age seven. Sarah and her older sister, Lou, find employment as washerwomen for a spirited black woman who runs a laundry business in Vicksburg, Miss. At 14, Sarah marries a good man, but when he is brutally killed, she and her daughter, Lelia, are nearly destitute, until Sarah starts her own laundry business in St. Louis. Sarah works hard for years before stumbling upon the "miracle" ingredient--sulfur--that cures her painful, itching scalp and promotes hair growth. Perfecting her increasingly popular concoction, she turns her kitchen into a production line/beauty parlor. After she marries flashy adman C.J. Walker, a nationwide ad campaign turns Madam C.J. Walker into a household name, the business funding a beauty college where women ("black roses") are trained to care for African-American hair. Walker gains entry to the black elite and extraordinary material wealth, yet the same toil that builds her business leads to personal heartbreak and cuts her life short. The author of two supernatural thrillers (My Soul to Keep; The Between), Due's leap into historical fiction is accomplished and enlivened by rich characterizations. A few flash-forward scenes necessary for the story's irony or suspense barely halt the polished pacing and keen-eared dialogue as this dramatic rags-to-riches narrative moves briskly toward a bittersweet end. Agent, John Hawkins. Sample chapter distributed through select African-American beauty salons nationwide; 5-city author tour. (June) FYI: Due's own grandmother was a graduate of the Madam C.J. Walker School of Beauty Culture.

February 1, 2000
How the daughter of slaves made good. Journalist-turned-novelist Due picks up a story begun by Alex Haley.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2000
YA-A fictionalized account of Madame C. J. Walker's riveting life as researched by Alex Haley prior to his death. Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker rose from an uneducated laundress to a woman of wealth. She was an ingenious and brilliant entrepreneur who created numerous hair and beauty products for women; however, she is most renowned for her invention of "the pressing comb" which allowed black women to relax their hair. Black leaders such as Booker T. Washington often sought her support both financially and as a community leader. Her legacy is reflective in many of the writings of Langston Hughes. Moreover, Walker was known as an elegant public speaker, and often commenced her speeches with the well-known one-liner, "I got my start by giving myself a start." Accordingly, the "Black Rose" (a phrase coined by Walker) believed that if an individual worked hard she could achieve her goals and much more. Wealth and notoriety came with a price, however: personal sacrifice and loss. Teen readers will love this fascinating novel.-ayo dayo, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2000
Before his 1992 death, controversial author Alex Haley had researched and planned a novel based on the life of Madam C. J. Walker, whose line of hair-care products made her the first black female millionaire in the U.S. Journalist and fiction writer Due has now written the novel Haley wanted to write, utilizing Haley's preparation. It is an involving story of the meteoric rise of a poverty-stricken woman, born to former slaves in Louisiana. By her proverbial boot straps, the girl born Sarah Breedlove struggles for an education. Despite early widowhood, she is able to further herself with her own laundry business. Persistent scalp problems lead to the discovery of a system for hair care for black women, and her fortune is made. But she has to tend to the private side of her life, too, and there are setbacks in following that path. In fact, she realizes late in life that "being a woman was the hardest thing of all." Alex Haley was considered a good storyteller by some and a plagiarist by others; either way, his connection with this novel will stir interest. It offers a fictional but nonetheless educational airing of an important life ((Reviewed April 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)