Robert Paquette, the Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History, published a book review in Journal of Social History (July, 2005). Paquette reviewed The Rebellious Slave: Nat Turner in American Memory by Scot French (Houghton Mifflin).
In an excerpt of the review, Paquette wrote: "In The Rebellious Slave,
Scot French offers little that is new about Turner's revolt, for that
is not his intent. He explores instead the collective memory of Nat
Turner, how individuals and groups of individuals have striven to find
"transcendent meaning" in the nation's "troubled past" by thinking and
writing about the most conspicuous insurrectionary slave in United
States history. Building a tradition in any society requires persistent
rediscovery and conscious seizure of elements of the past. For
divergent constituencies Turner's image became contested ground. Over
the decades he has appeared in print and other media as everything from
a deranged brigand to a cerebral and divinely-inspired revolutionary.
The various versions of Turner that have come to public attention chart
in revealing ways momentous struggles in American politics and
culture."
