Date Published: 08-24-2023
The Missy Box
In 1685 two ten-year-old girls cross the Atlantic, one in the hold of a slave ship, and the other at the Captain’s table of a royal Danish Ship. On St. Thomas their lives will become intertwined, along with that of Mette, the brothel keeper, and Isaac and Pundi, two other wanderers who have landed in this fomenting place at the dawn of its plantation history.
Eighty-five years later, in Copenhagen, this family story is uncovered by Maria Suhm, the way many are, through treasures kept hidden. The Missy Box gives up its secrets with tantalizing reluctance, against a backdrop in 1772 of historical scandal and conspiracy that will bring Denmark to a crisis.
The Missy Box is an imagined story based on the young life of Maria Suhm Wheelock, the wife of the second President of Dartmouth College and her great grandmother, Maria Bourdoux Lasalle, a Huguenot refugee from France.
Set in a time before the interior of American had been discovered by Europeans, the Missy Box recreates a world connected by oceans, peopled by refugees, and the kings who controlled their fates.
Interview with Anne Emerson
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
I have read extensively on writing, on character creation, beats in fiction, etc. but most of what I write just flows from me.
How do you select the names of your characters?
Some of my characters came with names, as they were real people. I selected my African names from lists of tribal names. Akila, being a name that begins with A, was early in the list. Later I thought perhaps I should change it, but I found I was too attached to the character as Akila to change her name. Bamadille means “follow me home”, a wistful bit of wishing, as Akila follows him through the jungle.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
No, but this is a book that creates a world of the 17th and 18th centuries, and so it may feel like you are entering a secret world.
What was your hardest scene to write?
There is a rape scene in the book that was very difficult, but important to write.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
This book should stand on its own.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
This book was inspired by a family story that came down to me, and it was my intention to imagine the world in which little Maria arrived (17th Century St Thomas). I researched it extensively and found that my imagination could hardly extend to how awful it was, especially for the enslaved. The alternating story, which takes place nearly 100 years later, finds that the relationship between slave and master has become more codified. I hope that is conveyed subtly. But in truth my goal was to write a truly engaging story that creates a world that the reader can inhabit fully. I think I did achieve that.
What inspired you to write The Missy Box?
The discovery of this family story. Although it is about slavery, I felt it was important to delve into this research. I love history and finding a personal connection to this difficult history was a way in for me to a deeper understanding. Of course I am writing about a 13th great grandmother, and we have some 4000 of those, so in all likelihood, all Caucasians have slaveholding in their background.
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in The Missy Box or what you have planned for the future?
I am resting for the moment!
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Missy Box?
The main characters in both time frames are twelve years old girls, one Black and one White, slave and master. I am the mother of two girls myself so I found myself taking character traits from my daughters in creating these fictional girls. Akila, the slave in the St. Thomas, is the daughter of a Soninke Chief and so is much more educated than one would expect. Her mistress Maria is a curly haired, sweet and open person, naïve and generous.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The historical research. I travelled to St. Thomas and to Denmark and I loved putting elements of those worlds into the text. And I loved how the story unfolded before me. When I discovered a little swatch of the material that Summy’s ball gown was made from in the archives at Dartmouth College, I flipped!
About the Author
Anne Emerson is a writer and a painter in Jamaica Plain Massachusetts. Her award winning first book, Letters from Erastus: Field Notes on Grace was published by Levellers Press in Amherst MA. The Missy Box is an imagined story based on the author's 13th great grandmother, a Huguenot refugee.
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