Speak Right On: Dred Scott, a Novel

Mary E. Neighbour
Toby Press (2006)
ISBN 159264144X
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (4/07)

Dred Scott’s history is not recorded, yet he was at the center of one of the most important legal cases in the history of the United States.  The case helped to ignite the flames of the Civil War.   Dred wanted freedom for his family.  He had no wish to be a political focus. 

Negroes were not allowed an education.  They were not allowed to read or many times to even touch a book except to dust it.  “My kin never trucked in no books.” 

A book doesn’t change; it’s the same story over and over.  But a story that’s told out loud has changes each time.   Each person that performs the story would tell it a little different.  Gran told stories each evening, she taught through her stories.  She always knew which story to tell and when to tell it.  “That’s the knowing of the griot, and Gran passed it down to me.”  Dred passed on the stories to his daughter so that they would not be lost.

Dred’s story was never recorded in a book.  This is considered a fictional account of a real person.  Dred Scott was a slave.  He saw men beat and women raped.  He witnessed his first love chained to the bed of a wagon as she was taken away to be sold.  He wanted freedom and attempted escape once.  He particularly wanted freedom for his daughters.

“Speak Right On” by Mary E. Neighbour is one of the finest books ever written.  I must admit that I knew little about Dred Scott.  The name was vaguely familiar.  Neighbour’s does an excellent job of depicting the life of the slave.  I was brought to tears as I turned the pages. Dred and his family come to life on the pages of this book and I desperately wanted to know what happened.  The slang makes it more authentic but was easy to read.  Mary Neighbour’s plot flows smoothly; this would make an excellent movie.  I would never have guessed that this was her first novel.  I believe we will hear a lot more from Neighbour.  This is a must read and I’m glad I did.

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