Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, 1807,  Rachel Pomié

This opening chapter is told from Rachel’s point of view and highlights her young life growing up on the island of St. Thomas. Of her youth, she says, “I rarely did as I was told. According to my mother, this had been my response to life ever since my birth, for it took three days for me to arrive in the world. As a child I did not sleep through the night, and I certainly didn’t follow any rules. But I was a girl who knew what I wanted” (1). She describes her family history, narrating how they had searched all over for religious freedom before finally coming to St. Thomas in 1754, since “the King of Denmark had passed an edict proclaiming that all men could practice their religions freely on St. Thomas; he outlawed new slavery and gave Jews the civil rights of other men” (3). Her father brings with him an apple tree and Enrique, a former slave who had always loyal and had helped save his life.

From the start, it’s clear that Rachel and her mother don’t get along. Her mother is a traditional woman who believes that Rachel should help her with domestic chores, but Rachel’s passion is reading books in her father’s library.