The Nature of Things

  Libertie is the daughter of an African-American homeopathic practitioner in pre-Civil War New York.  Her father had died years before and her mother was left with the full responsibility for supporting herself and her daughter and raising the daughter alone. Her mother's fondest dream for Libertie is that she should go to medical school and that the two of them should practice the healing arts together. Both mother and daughter are freeborn, but the mother is so light-skinned that she could pass as White and this works to her advantage later when she is able to treat both White and Black women at her clinic. Libertie, in contrast, has very dark skin like her father.  The mother is active in helping the enslaved reach freedom. One of those she helps is a man known as Ben Daisy who arrives at her clinic in a coffin. Libertie becomes fascinated with Ben Daisy and his pet name for her is "Black Gal." But he is a very troubled man who is haunted by the loss of the woman he l...