A review by srmilesauthor
Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso: A Tale of Race, Sex, and Violence in America by Kali Nicole Gross

3.0

Historical accounts of the lives of black women are so rare that I had to pick this one up. Especially, in light of the fact that I'm just beginning some research on a historical novel I've had brewing in my brain for a good while now. While the gritty details might titlate the true crime set I was disappointed with the lack of compare and contrast between Hannah and other everyday black women. I wanted to know how propriety was handled in the Victorian era of such repression that buffered against the era of slavery, where rape was common, relationships could be torn apart and sex outside of wedlock was more common than not. Did black folk, and black women especially live with a level of shame at all times or was the culture more forgiving? I wanted more information and I was definitely disappointed with the inordinate amount of notes at the end. It made it feel more like a dissertation than a quick read.