Fanny Kemble's Journal

Actress Anne Ludlum (nee' O'Connell) presents a one- woman show based on the journals of English actress, Fanny Kemble, who visited the United States in the late 1830's. Fanny married an American, who she considered to be a good, but not particularly intelligent, man. Shortly after the marriage, her husband inherited a Georgia Sea Island plantation worked by hundreds of slaves under one white overseer. Looking back over the situation, Fanny recalls the inhuman living conditions, the cruel treatment of the slaves, and how her efforts to improve sanitary and health conditions were met with hostility from the overseer and growing resentment from her husband. Finally, after being forbidden to meddle in the lives of the slaves, Fanny left the plantation, and was divorced by her husband, who did not wish to be married to an abolitionist. Ludlum delivers an excellent performance: some times humorous, sometimes tragic, which shows clearly what it was like to live day by day on a thriving Southern plantation. Kemble's words are combined with actual Georgia locations and authentic slave songs, sung by the Georgia Sea Island Singers, to present an emotionally involving look at the horrors of slavery and the courageous fight of one woman to alleviate the brutal conditions she encountered. Highly recommended for school, college, and public libraries, Fanny Kemble's Journal would also be excellent for public programs during Black History Month. (Available from: Film Ideas, 3575 Commercial Ave., Northbrook, IL 60062; 312-480-5760.) (Ruth Webb, Seattle Public Library, Seattle, WA)