A Partial Sun
An Historical Novel Based on True Events
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Author Lawrence Reid Bechtel has captured the story of Isaac Granger, a slave from Thomas Jefferson's plantation as told through the eyes of amateur historian Reverend Charles Campbell.
In 1852, after much searching through the Black districts of Petersburg, Virginia, the amateur historian Charles Campbell finally located Isaac Granger, a former slave of the late Thomas Jefferson. Though disinterested at first in sharing his memories, Isaac was at last persuaded by the persistent Reverend to tell the full story of his time in Philadelphia as a young man in the early 1790s. It was supposed to have been a simple story: he would apprentice with a Quaker tinsmith and then return to Monticello to produce tinware for sale in such abundance that "Old Master" might pay down his plantation's crippling debts. But Isaac was impressionable and more thoughtful than Mr. Jefferson knew. Philadelphia was a big city, home to a thriving African-American community, and Isaac met all manner of characters, both tragic and comic. Isaac got himself into difficulties, contemplated his place in the world, and was challenged to do more than just serve. Conflict was inevitable. |
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Praise for A Partial Sun
“Lawrence Reid Bechtel’s A Partial Sun is a powerful coming of age novel told in the words of Isaac Granger Jefferson, the teenage slave who accompanied Thomas Jefferson from his Virginia plantation to the bustling city of Philadelphia to learn the trade of tinsmith. Isaac’s tale is rich in language and detail, with historical figures brought fully to life, including Jefferson himself, the enigmatic slave master who authored the Declaration of Independence.”
--Ross Howell Jr., author of Forsaken
“A Partial Sun is historical fiction at its best -- plausible, compelling, grounded in historical research, and dealing with themes of paramount importance and relevance to our own day. As a student of Thomas Jefferson, I was quite literally spellbound by Bechtel’s attention to detail, and ability to create events and dialogue that seem so much in alignment with what one would expect from the characters involved, including Mr. Jefferson.”
--- Allen Carden, Professor of History at Fresno Pacific University (California), and most recently author of Freedom's Delay - America's Struggle for Emancipation, 1776-1865 and coauthor, with Thomas J. Ebert, of John George Nicolay - The Man in Lincoln's Shadow.
"I could not put this book down. It tells the story of Isaac Granger in a Mark Twain-ish style that educates and illuminates without skimping on the horrors of slavery Granger had to deal with in his heroic journey to freedom."
---Karen Thomson, Book Group Leader and Founder of Literature for All Of Us
“[The author does] a wonderful job shaping Isaac's character and sculpting a plot that's thoroughly engaging. [His] characters, good and bad, are all convincing, and the atmosphere and setting feels vivid and realistic . . . . it's our shared humanity and history that asks a conscientious writer to try to understand history from the point of view of the oppressed as well as the oppressor--which is clearly what [the author is] trying to do.”
---Ed Falco, Professor, English Department, MFA Program in Creative Writing, Virginia Tech
“Isaac's adventures and misadventures highlight the complexities and nuances of slavery, even in the North. Bechtel's deep research brings gravity and authenticity to that twisted American social culture. Isaac's harrowing adventures on his trip to Philadelphia is worth the price of the book. I was truly sorry to find myself at the end of Isaac's journey, and I welcome the author's promise of a sequel.”
---Rod Barfield, author, Seasoned by Salt: A Historical Atlas of the Outer Banks (UNC Press)
America's Forgotten Caste (Xlibris Publishing)
Thomas Day, Free Black Cabinetmaker (N.C. Division of Archives and History)
--Ross Howell Jr., author of Forsaken
“A Partial Sun is historical fiction at its best -- plausible, compelling, grounded in historical research, and dealing with themes of paramount importance and relevance to our own day. As a student of Thomas Jefferson, I was quite literally spellbound by Bechtel’s attention to detail, and ability to create events and dialogue that seem so much in alignment with what one would expect from the characters involved, including Mr. Jefferson.”
--- Allen Carden, Professor of History at Fresno Pacific University (California), and most recently author of Freedom's Delay - America's Struggle for Emancipation, 1776-1865 and coauthor, with Thomas J. Ebert, of John George Nicolay - The Man in Lincoln's Shadow.
"I could not put this book down. It tells the story of Isaac Granger in a Mark Twain-ish style that educates and illuminates without skimping on the horrors of slavery Granger had to deal with in his heroic journey to freedom."
---Karen Thomson, Book Group Leader and Founder of Literature for All Of Us
“[The author does] a wonderful job shaping Isaac's character and sculpting a plot that's thoroughly engaging. [His] characters, good and bad, are all convincing, and the atmosphere and setting feels vivid and realistic . . . . it's our shared humanity and history that asks a conscientious writer to try to understand history from the point of view of the oppressed as well as the oppressor--which is clearly what [the author is] trying to do.”
---Ed Falco, Professor, English Department, MFA Program in Creative Writing, Virginia Tech
“Isaac's adventures and misadventures highlight the complexities and nuances of slavery, even in the North. Bechtel's deep research brings gravity and authenticity to that twisted American social culture. Isaac's harrowing adventures on his trip to Philadelphia is worth the price of the book. I was truly sorry to find myself at the end of Isaac's journey, and I welcome the author's promise of a sequel.”
---Rod Barfield, author, Seasoned by Salt: A Historical Atlas of the Outer Banks (UNC Press)
America's Forgotten Caste (Xlibris Publishing)
Thomas Day, Free Black Cabinetmaker (N.C. Division of Archives and History)