Romance of the Republic

A Romance of the Republic, published in 1867, was Lydia Maria Child's fourth novel and the capstone of her remarkable literary career. Written shortly after the Civil War, it offered a progressive alternative to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Writer, magazine publisher and outspoken abolititionist, Child defied the norms of gender and class decorum in this novel by promoting interracial marriage as a way blacks and whites could come to view each other with sympathy and understanding. In constructing the tale of fair-skinned Rosa and Flora Royal-daughters of a slaveowner whose mother was also the daughter of a slaveowner-Child consciously attempted to counter two popular claims: that racial intermarriage was "e;unnatural"e; and that slavery was a benevolent institution. But Child's target was not merely racism. Her characters are forced both to reconsider their attitudes toward "e;white"e; and "e;black"e; and to question the very foundation of the patriarchal society in which they live.