Without diluting the prose, downplaying the negatives or weakening the story, Graham presents a vital, previously underreported tale of glory, achievement and eventual disappointment." - Book Alert Provides thorough and solid historical detail, political analysis and cultural discussion.
"Few authors or journalists probe with more specificity and irony the dynamic of race and class than Lawrence Otis Graham.An entertaining, intriguing and sometimes amazing story of personal mobility and ambition. "A rare, detailed glimpse into politics, race, and class in post-Reconstruction America." - U.S. "THE SENATOR AND THE SOCIALITE offers a compelling portrait of the Bruce family's rise, dynamics and downfall.A poignant tale of struggle, accomplishment.and an illuminating account of American racism." - Washington Post "Graham's fluid prose paints an absorbing picture." - Roll Call Graham is right to want to bring the story to a reading public." - Wall Street Journal "Graham's research is impressive and comprehensive.this compelling story shows how the American Dream can transmute into the American nightmare." - Kirkus Reviews Yet later generations would stray from the proud Bruce legacy, stumbling into scandal and tragedy.ĭrawing on Senate records, historical documents, and personal letters, author Lawrence Otis Graham weaves a riveting social history that offers a fascinating look at race, politics, and class in America. The Bruce family achieved a level of wealth and power unheard of for people of color in nineteenth-century America. He married Josephine Willson-the daughter of a wealthy black Philadelphia doctor-and together they broke down racial barriers in 1880s Washington, D.C., numbering President Ulysses S.
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Filled with triumph and tragedy, Otis's riveting book brings into focus an important yet little-known segment of our nation's past.īlanche Kelso Bruce was born a slave in 1841, yet, remarkably, amassed a real-estate fortune and became the first black man to serve a full term in the U.S. With his wife, the daughter of a prominent Philadelphia physician, he would break social and racial barriers-a legacy continued by their children until scandal destroyed the family's wealth and stature. Otis reveals how Bruce rose from slavery to achieve power and prestige in the aftermath of the Civil War. Spanning more than a century, Lawrence Otis's illuminating biography is a fascinating look at race and class in America, witnessed through the life of Blanche Kelso Bruce-the head of America's first black dynasty and the first black U.S. The issues raised by Bruce's life and career resonate today, making Graham's book not just a history but a revealing commentary on race and class, and on their inordinately powerful force in shaping our lives today."- Chicago Tribune "A cohesive picture of an extraordinary figure.
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