Unmentionables (2010) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• Dorothy Holland: Daughter of George and Henrietta Holland who own a small family farm
• Jimmy Holland: Slave on the Holland farm
• Ella Holland: Slave on the Holland Farm
• Augustus Askew: Owner of Hickory Grove plantation and slaveholder
• William Askew: Son of Augustus Askew
• Cato Holland: Son and slave of Augustus Askew
• Sammy Holland: Young orphan slave purchased by George Holland
• Erastus Hicks: Itinerant Quaker painter who arrives in Madison County, Tennessee to paint portraits of the Askews and Hollands
• Reverend Zeke: Slave preacher who holds Sunday sermons in the woods
• Wally Holland: Jimmy and Ella's mother
• Daniel Watson: Friend of William Askew
• Mrs. Macmurrough: Abolitionist in Cairo, Illinois
• Willis Holland: Slave on the Holland Farm, married to Cora
• Henry: Slave on the Askew Plantation
• Henrietta Holland: Wife of George Holland
• Mr. Mack: Abolitionist in Cairo, Illinois
• Mr. Frazza: Hairdresser in Chicago
• Mr. Mcnish: Quaker tour guide for Mammoth Cave in Kentucky
• Juba Jake: Oldest slave on the Holland Farm
• Mr. Flint: Overseer at the Askew Plantation
• Mrs. Greer: Society friend of Henrietta Holland
• Venus: The Holland's dog, cared for by the slaves
• Cora Holland: Slave on the Holland farm, married to Willis
• Judge Samuels: Friend of Augustus Askew
• George Holland: Owner of the Holland farm, married to Henrietta, father of Dorothy
• Sara: Slave on the Askew Plantation, whose children are sold
• Mr. Steitz: Cigar maker in Chicago
• Donahue: Cat belonging to Mrs. MacMurrough
• Dr. Thorne: Doctor in the town of Jackson, Tennessee
• Scout: Daniel Watson's dog, cared for by Augustus Askew

Quotes edit see section history

• “"It has something to do with yearning...yearning to get hold of what I see. Sometimes I'm overcome, Cato, truly...When I look at this world and see it, I wonder if what I see...is this what others see too?...Because I think if others saw it as I did, they too would be compelled to take up paints and brushes-to try to rope the magnificence of this world onto a canvas...just to try to get hold of it..."”

  Erastus Hicks

• “"Then again, all humans were at a disadvantage. Walking as they did with their noses so high up off the ground, one could hardly expect them to catch most of the essence of the world. For what was the earth if not a sniffable, whiffable, smorgasbord? The world was a bouquet of fumes and traces, redolent, spicy, sometimes sweet or savory, sometimes foul or fetid. There were stinks of rot-and there were lovely perfumes. There were damp smells like creek water, or wet grass, or spring mud. There were dry smells like hay in the hot sun, or the grainy, dusty smell of weeds, browned and dessicated from days without water. There were exciting erotic smells of urine, sweat and body aromas: those powerful, heady wafts that brought the atoms of one body into the nose of another. How could humans not read these sexual signatures, the intimate imprint, the very particular smell of each being, traveling like a cloud of emissions, the fumes of physicality, dragged in a trail of musk behind all creatures?"”

  Venus (the slave's dog)

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• so much that is beautiful in life happens in an instant.  But one must contrive to be in the right place at the right time and have one’s eyes open.”

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•  You can allow great things more easily than you can pursue them.  All that is required is to keep your eyes open, and to recognize the Divine breath when a breeze strikes you in the face.

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•  Practice turning your attention away from those things that trouble you, and put it on anything good: 

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• “The more you’re able to see the light in others, the more brightly it will glow in you.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Jackson, Tennessee: Town nearest the Holland farm
• Holland Farm: home of Jimmy, Ella, Dorothy, George and Henrietta Holland
• Hickory Grove: the Askew Plantation, home of Cato, Lucille, William and Augustus Askew
• Christmasville Road: Road connecting Hickory Grove, the Holland Farm and the town of Jackson
• Chicago, IL: Site of Union prison Camp Douglas
• Memphis: Where the young slave Sammy was purchased
• Shiloh: Site in Tennessee of major Civil War battle
• Mammoth Cave: Cave in Kentucky
• Cairo: Illinois town at the junction of the Ohio and Missouri Rivers
• Ohio River: Separates the slave states from the free states
• Camp Douglas: Union prison camp in Chicago

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. David Greene (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Book of the Year Awards (2010: Gay and Lesbian Fiction, Bronze Medal)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Not suitable for children. Contains some explicit sexual scenes.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Gay & Lesbian › Literature & Fiction › Fiction › Gay

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• David Greene Author Page