Sweeter than Birdsong (41 page)

Her agitation emptied her head. Would she have anything to say? This was not some ballroom debate.

She might not have the words to refute them, but she knew something by heart that others would recognize. She grabbed the railing and took a deep breath.

She sang out as loudly as she could, though her voice shook a trace:
“Oh my poor Nelly Gray . . .”

The theater was so quiet her voice filled it, effortless and clear like a bell vibrating over snow. She would not stop until they heard.
“They have taken you away . . .”

Several voices joined in.
“And I’ ll never see . . .”

Half the theater burst into it from the pit, a chorus of rough men’s voices,
“My darling any more . . .”

She let them take up the chorus and stopped to listen.

Ben clutched the railing next to her and stared down at the pit, his face open with wonder. “What?” he said to her under his breath. “How do they know?” He shook his head a fraction, still gazing at the crowd. He brought one hand to his mouth as if stifling a cough, then closed his eyes and went to his knees as if the railing were all that held him up, his head bowed. She knelt with him, laid a hand on his shoulder, unwilling to leave him, heedless of who saw them or what they thought.

Did he not know what her aunt had told her, that his song was everywhere? That it was the anthem of abolition, and changing hearts by the hundreds and thousands? He looked at her with tears in his eyes and she nodded to tell him yes, it was true, wanting to weep for gladness for him, for what he had done, for what he had only just learned as the notes continued to resound through the building.

“I am sitting by the river and I’m weeping all the day . . . ,”
the audience sang, even the respectable ones in the boxes. The song overpowered the faint hecklers, who stormed out one by one, waving their arms, yelling inaudible threats.

Ben passed a hand over his eyes. She knew what he was thinking— she could not get them out of her mind either. No more deaths—slavery must end, and by God’s grace, it would. Nelly and her baby had not died in vain. Their lives had mattered— their story had been told, and they would never be forgotten.

“For you’ve gone from that old Kentucky shore.”

The melody ended, triumphant, and the applause and cheering redoubled, as if the roof itself would lift at any minute, and the shouting and singing would spread across the whole country. Ben got to his feet, slowly. He held his hand out to her, palm up, as he would on the day he took her to be his bride, and she placed her hand in his. Drawing her up to stand with him, he placed a gentle arm around her and whispered in her ear, “It is beginning.” He did not move away, but kept his face to her neck, where his warm breath sent a thrill through her and made her long for that wedding day.

And she knew what he meant, as she leaned into his embrace and felt the warmth of his body next to hers.

The power of the song was in the joining of voices, and she and Ben would sing it together as one, as long as they lived.

Afterword

History and Fiction

“D
ARLING
N
ELLY
G
RAY” TOOK THE NATION BY STORM
in 1856 and was called the “
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
of song.” Like Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Ben Hanby’s song was renowned for its power to rouse people against the evils of slavery. Ben earned very little money for the song due to the sharp dealing of his publisher. He wrote other great songs that are still performed today, the most famous being “Up on the Housetop,” the classic Christmas song. (I bought an illustrated children’s version of “Up on the Housetop” just so I could delight in the name “Benjamin Russel Hanby” on the cover.)

After raising two young children with his beloved wife, Ben Hanby died of illness at thirty-three, and Kate Winter Hanby never remarried. She described Ben thus: “[He had] dark curly hair, and beautiful eyes . . . Fond of jokes, a fine storyteller, and a brilliant conversationalist, he was a kind, helpful husband and fond of his children” (Shoemaker 108). That testimony alone would make Ben Hanby a real-life hero in my book.

I changed some family relationships in my novel, but Ben’s parents and siblings are portrayed as in life, all called by their real names. For more on the story of Will Hanby and Ann Miller Hanby, see
Fairer than Morning
, the first novel of this series.

The real Kate Winter (full name Mary Katherine Winter) was extremely shy and soft-spoken, though intellectually gifted and beautiful. She was the first graduate of Otterbein College, which was one of the first colleges in the nation to admit women. Her parents were Elizabeth and Isaac Winter, wealthy and influential people in the village of Westerville. Kate’s mother was socially ambitious and opposed Ben Hanby as a suitor for her daughter due to his lack of prospects as a future minister. A young music teacher named Cornelia Walker secretly aided Ben and Kate to meet at her home and eventually become engaged, which is why Ben dedicated his song “Darling Nelly Gray” to “Miss A. C. Walker.” In life, however, Cornelia Walker was the daughter of an Otterbein professor, not of the college president as in my story. The college president at the time was Lewis Davis, and like the fictitious President Lawrence of the novel, he was also an Underground Railroader who worked with William Hanby.

There is no historical evidence that Kate Winter worked on the Underground Railroad with Ben Hanby before their marriage, as she does in
Sweeter than Birdsong
, but she could have done so easily once she and Ben lived in the same house. They married in 1858, when he graduated from Otterbein, and lived together as man and wife for several years before the Civil War began.

John Parker is an amazing figure in history who lived in Ripley, Ohio, and aided fugitive slaves. An ex-slave himself, he owned an iron foundry and employed white men, some from across the river. His life story reads like the tale of an action hero, and I wrote his character to reflect his courage and toughness. There is no evidence that John Parker ever worked with the Hanbys on the Underground Railroad. Nonetheless, I felt that no account of the Railroad could be complete without portraying the contribution of free African Americans who risked their lives so others could find freedom. I decided to write John Parker into the story and included some of his real deeds in my account of the fugitives’ escape from Kentucky (
His Promised Land
111).

Ben did teach in Rushville as a substitute teacher for the winter and found the school in disarray, just as it appears in
Sweeter than Birdsong
. He enlisted his pupils to paint and redecorate, and he taught songs at the opening of each class. In reality, he was not dismissed for teaching abolitionist songs, but instead was very successful and remembered fondly afterward by his students.

The facts behind this series come from
Choose You This Day
, a biography of the Hanbys by Dacia Custer Shoemaker published in 1983 by the Westerville Historical Society. In addition, I consulted Brainerd Hanby’s booklet
The Widow
, a biography of his mother, Kate Winter Hanby.
The Widow
is preserved in the Hanby collection at Otterbein College, an institution founded by William Hanby and attended by several Hanby children.

Readers seeking more information about John Parker will find it in
His Promised Land
, an autobiography edited by Stuart Seely Sprague and copyrighted by the John Parker Historical Society (W. W. Norton, 1996).

Acknowledgments

M
Y HEARTFELT THANKS GO TO MY HUSBAND AND
daughter, who shared my time with good grace and didn’t laugh when I walked around muttering to myself.

My editors, Ami McConnell and Meredith Efken, are the reason this novel made it into your hands. They guided me through the revision process with great insight, and I count myself blessed to have had the help of two of the best editors in our industry for this project. I’m grateful for their dedication to the highest standards.

Thanks to all the others at Thomas Nelson who create such beautiful work and provide support at key moments: Allen Arnold, Kristen Vasgaard, Becky Monds, and all the other lovely folks on staff there.

Thanks to my agent, Rachelle Gardner, who made it all happen from the beginning.

My critique partners sustained me through several drafts of this novel. In particular, Lorena Hughes and Dave Slade read through the entire final draft with great determination and speed, in order to make my deadline, and I am grateful for their help. Barbara Leachman was a great encourager when it came to spreading the word about my work. And Gwen Stewart stuck with me through the most stressful time in the whole process, the Christmas holidays of 2010. When everybody else was celebrating the season with family, Gwen’s staunch friendship and writerly advice consoled and lifted up a lonely and discouraged pre-deadline novelist.

My beta readers Angie Drobnic Holan and Rachel Padilla also gave me valuable insight on this project.

My author friends are a lifeline for me, including Katie Ganshert, Jody Hedlund, Bonnie Leon, Wendy Paine Miller, Keli Gwyn, and Allison Pittman. The Wordserve Literary gang is also a huge source of encouragement, and I thank you all. The list of all those who showed kindness or offered professional assistance is too lengthy to include here, but please know how grateful I am to all of you. I also appreciate my reviewers, both professional and in the blogging community, and all the readers who take time to write to me about my novels. You’re an inspiration and your comments keep me going when it gets tough.

Thanks to Bill and Harriet Merriman of the Westerville Historical Society, Pam and Jim Allen of Hanby House, Beth Weinhart of the Westerville Public Library, Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi of Westerville, and President Kathy Krendl of Otterbein College. And a special thanks to Dennis Davenport and his students in the music department of Otterbein for a terrific and moving presentation of Ben Hanby’s music.

Much love to Michelle Fuchs and Gena Wooldridge and thanks for your friendship and support.

My sister, Kathryn, and her husband, Josh, were always ready to lend advice and amusing quips at the right time.

Thanks to my small group, the Felziens, Guzmans, and Crowders. And thanks to Donna O’Rear for a conversation at a key moment. I send gratitude and a smile to my friend Lee Thomas, for her friendship and grounding influence throughout the process, as well as for unknowingly lending me the character of her horse Garnet, the chestnut mare.

Thanks to all my friends from LSMSA ’88–’90 and all the others who have stuck with me throughout the years—you know who you are.

And, as always, thanks to the original Author, who gives me hope and a future.

Reading Group Guide

1. Why do you think Kate is so fearful about speaking in public? Is it her temperament or her personal history? Have you ever known someone who had this phobia? What effect did it have on that person?

2. Even though Kate suffers from great social anxiety, she is completely comfortable with her horse and willing to perform feats on horseback that others consider physically daring. Most people have similar odd mixes of courage and fearfulness, but we never learn those secrets about them. Is there an area in which you are courageous or fearful that might surprise those who know you?

3. How might Kate’s married life look if she married Frederick Jones? What does he seem to expect from her, and how does it differ from Ben’s attitude toward her?

4. Why is Ben so driven to find Nelly and liberate her? How does such a strong passion for a good work help a person? How can it cause problems or mistakes?

5. How would you describe Kate’s relationship with her sister, Leah? What gets in the way of their closeness?

6. The circus performers include women who vault and do tricks on horseback in knee-length tutus. How did this violate social custom of the time? Why might it have appealed to Kate even as it shocked her? How might others in the audience have perceived those women in positive or negative ways? How do you think you would have reacted to them if you had lived in the 1850s?

7. John Parker was a real African-American hero who worked on the Underground Railroad in Ripley. What would it have been like for a black man to own a foundry right across the Ohio River from a slave state and even employ white men? What everyday challenges might John face, and what personal qualities would he need?

8. How does the journey with Nelly and her baby change Kate?

9. Why is Ben tempted to take the law clerkship? Is the advice his father gives him correct, and is Will Hanby wise to give his adult son such firm direction and principles? Under those circumstances, would you advise your adult son of the right path or keep silent? Do you think you would listen if you were the adult son or daughter in Ben’s position?

10. Why does Ben think “Darling Nelly Gray” has failed when he passes through the music store and the inn in Pittsburgh on his way to Philadelphia? Why does this failure affect him so deeply? How does the end of the novel affect your perspective on this moment in Pittsburgh?

11. In the historical afterword, we learn what happened to the real Ben Hanby and Kate Winter after their marriage. Despite the unexpected events of their life together, do you think the real Kate Winter was glad she married Ben Hanby? If you were Kate, would you think it was all worth the pain and sacrifices? 12. What are some of the reasons this novel is titled
Sweeter than Birdsong
?