The Queen of Sugar Hill: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel by ReShonda Tate

I started reading this book a couple months ago, but didn’t finish in time for the digital book to be returned to the library. I picked it back up with the audio version recently because that’s what was available. I was able to find my place and pick up where I left off.

This was a work of fiction, but was based on true events. Hattie McDaniel was an actress in the early 1900’s, with the bulk of her work in the 30s and 40s. She was probably best known as the first African American actress to win an Oscar, for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. She fought hard against segregation, and for equal rights for black Americans. I think the author succeeded at taking on the challenge of honoring Hattie’s McDaniel’s true accomplishments, while fictionalizing events along with the way. It made for a really fun and interesting read. I felt like I learned a lot more about history that I’ll retain. It wasn’t so much about collecting facts, but more about living McDaniel’s experience as a black actress struggling to not be pigeon-holed into stereotypical roles. Also, the audiobook portion I listened to was pretty outstanding.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 on Goodreads. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good fiction read with a healthy dose of history!