Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War Study Guide & Plot Synopsis

Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War Plot Summary

Preview of Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War Summary:

Duncan Gatewood is the young master of Stratford Plantation. He and his sister, Leona, study with a neighbor girl, Sallie Botkin, from Sallie's father Uther Botkin. Duncan is out on the land when a terrible snowstorm hits and when he makes it back to the barn he finds a young slave girl named Midge waiting for him. The two begin an affair that angers Duncan's father, Samuel Gatewood, to the point that he sends Duncan away to military school. The affair continues and when Midge becomes pregnant with Duncan's child, Samuel buys a slave from Uther, a man named Jesse Burns, and forces Midge to marry Jesse, then changes her name to Maggie. Samuel later forces Duncan to admit to his folly, pointing out that the son, a boy named Jacob, is officially a slave and that Duncan's own son will be forced to work in the fields and could...
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