The House Girl: A Novel

The House Girl, the historical fiction debut by Tara Conklin, is an unforgettable story of love, history, and a search for justice, set in modern-day New York and 1852 Virginia.

Weaving together the story of an escaped slave in the pre–Civil War South and a determined junior lawyer, The House Girl follows Lina Sparrow as she looks for an appropriate lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking compensation for families of slaves. In her research, she learns about Lu Anne Bell, a renowned prewar artist whose famous works might have actually been painted by her slave, Josephine.

Featuring two remarkable, unforgettable heroines, Tara Conklin's The House Girl is riveting and powerful, literary fiction at its very best.

Two remarkable women, separated by more than a century, whose lives unexpectedly intertwine. . . 2004: Lina Sparrow is an ambitious young lawyer working on a historic class-action lawsuit seeking reparations for the descendants of American slaves. 1852: Josephine is a seventeen-year-old house slave who tends to the mistress of a Virginia tobacco farm—an aspiring artist named Lu Anne Bell.

Through her artist father, Lina discovers that art historians now suspect that the revered paintings of Lu Anne Bell were actually the work of her house slave, Josephine. A descendant of Josephine's would be the perfect face for the lawsuit—if Lina can find one. In piecing together Josephine's story, Lina embarks on a journey that will lead her to question her own life. This searing tale of art and history, love and secrets explores what it means to repair a wrong, and asks whether truth can be more important than justice.

Performed by Bahni Turpin