The Davenports

Plot Summary: Set in Chicago in 1910, The Davenports tells the story of a wealthy Black family. Mr. Davenport started a carriage company after Emancipation. He has worked hard until he reached success. He, and his wife, have specific things they want for their children. His son John is expected to take over the company. John accepts this. However, he struggles because he is expected to court a wealthy family friend, while also having feelings for a maid that works in their house, Amy Rose. Olivia, the oldest daughter, is expected to marry well. She’s happy to do that until a young civil rights lawyer, Mr. Washington DeWight, comes to town and she gets caught up in the excitement of his cause. The younger daughter, Helen, likes to work on the carriages and the new Model-T automobiles. Her father doesn’t support this interest. He wants Helen to be a highborn lady. Other characters flesh out the story as the family members try and work out their differences and love for each other.

Author Background: The Davenports is Krystal Marquis' debut novel. She started the first draft on a dare to complete the NaNoWriMo challenge, where authors try and draft a novel in the month of November. She received degrees in biology from Boston College and the University of Connecticut. Her day job involves working for an online retailer as an environmental safety manager (Marquis, n.d.)

Critical Evaluation: The narrator of the audiobook is a solid reader. She enunciates the words and has inflections that help with emotion or tone. However, having one person read the dialogue for all the characters in a fairly hefty story (about 12 hours of reading) has its downsides. There are both male and female characters, all of various ages, a character from the Deep South, and a character who was raised in England.  That must be difficult for the narrator (Good Reads, n.d.). 

The Davenports is a good story. As is noted in several Good Reads (n.d.) reviews, it revolves around a part of American history that is not well known. The story is a slow burn most of the time. The characters live in a more privileged position than other Black characters I’ve read. Their wealth affords them a sense of grudging appreciation even from the white people mentioned in the story. When Jim Crow laws and other discrimination is mentioned it seems detached from the characters’ lives.

Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer: As Black people in the South and around the United States are languishing under discriminatory laws and government agents, the Davenport family is respected to some degree in Chicago. But what happens when family members start branching out and going against the expected norms of their society? 

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: The Davenports took on class and race issues, as well as the changing of gender roles in society. In some ways it mirrors how our society is today. Class and race decide how seriously a person is taken in society. In 1910, women, of any race, couldn't vote yet. In 2023 they can, but other feminist issues still need to be addressed. For example, women still face inequality in the workplace. Helen experiences this because of her desire to work in the garage instead of being a socialite.

Reason for Inclusion: So many books and media don't give a full picture of what Black lives are like. Even if The Davenports doesn't give a full picture, because what single book can, it does give a nuanced and new look at what life may have been like for them in the early 1900s.

References 

Black Excellence Excellist. (2018, April 4). 10 young Black entrepreneurs & millennials. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XDI0nIZA68.  

Good Reads. (n.d.). The Davenports. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58469344-the-davenports. 

Marquis, K. (n.d.). About me. https://krystalmarquis.com/about-me/. 

PHP Agency. (2014, September 15). The rise of African-American entrepreneurs in America. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJjPEBCfBFQ.