About Elisabeth Samson, Forbidden Bride: Based on the true story of the first black woman in 18th century Suriname to get legal permission to marry white. by C.V. Hamilton:
“Hamilton’s novel centers on a fascinating, little-known figure from history – Elisabeth Samson emerges as intriguing and distinctive. An intriguing fictionalization of circumstances with an ample romantic angle. Hamilton’s prose style is warm, even, and voice-driven.” – The BookLife Prize
In the 18th century Dutch plantation colony of Suriname, where wealth is measured by the number of slaves one owns, the educated Free Negress Elisabeth Samson, owner of several flourishing coffee plantations, desires the one thing her wealth cannot buy: a legal marriage with her consort, a White colonial officer.
But can she overcome the strict Dutch laws forbidding marriage between Black and White against the powerful forces of the colonial Governor, the White planters who make up the Court of Justice, and the Society of Suriname, who covet her property, call her “whore” and accuse her of treason?
Based on a true story, Elisabeth Samson, Forbidden Bride paints a rich and thought-provoking portrait of a time when opulence reigned, Black people owned slaves, family was most important, and human cruelty was part of the norm.
“Historical fiction readers who look for strong female protagonists and compelling backgrounds will relish Elisabeth Samson, Forbidden Bride… a revealing, complex story that probes intention and attitude. Hamilton brings Elisabeth’s story to life with a solid attention to rich details that both educate and involve.” – Midwest Book Review
“Enjoyable and enlightening. There is opulence and brutality, human kindness and primitive madness.”
– Nevada Woman Magazine
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Author Bio:
Carolyn V. Hamilton lives the U.S. expat life up in southern Ecuador’s Andes mountains in the Spanish colonial town of Cuenca, one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ecuador.
When she’s not struggling with “Spanglish”, she likes to write books, create art journals, cook, and paint photo-realistic watercolors from her personal photo collection. She also likes chocolate, Border Collies, comedy, alpaca shawls, adult coloring, and lunching with girlfriends.
Raised as a nice Lutheran girl from Seattle, in the rainy Pacific NW area of the United States, she has no problem with lockdowns because as a child she learned to play quietly in her room. Gray, rainy days feel normal, and she regards sunshine with suspicion.
In addition to writing memoir, fiction and non-fiction, she loves to lead writing workshops, and coach aspiring memoir writers.
Having published two memoirs (and a third “in the drawer”), she’s learned a lot along the way about the process.
Professionally trained as an illustrator and graphic designer, she spent over three decades working as a marketing executive and copywriter in the real world of Mad Men. Her BA, in Liberal Arts, is from Antioch University Seattle (where she discovered she could get legitimate credits for “life experience.”)
Carolyn’s other adventures have included two years’ service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Suriname (chronicled in part in her memoir, HELP! I Married an Alien A Comedian), and a stint—in her “younger days”—as a Playboy Bunny.
And it’s true that she now shares her fifth-floor, penthouse-like condominium with that ex-husband, the stand-up comedian from Las Vegas.