* * *
One day not very long after this happening, the body of Aubrey Livingston was found floating in the Charles River at the very point where poor Molly Vance had floated in the tangled lily-bed. The mysterious command of Ai, “death by thine own hand,” whispered in his ear while under hypnotic influence, had been followed to the last letter.
Thus Aubrey had become his own executioner according to the ancient laws of the inhabitants of Telassar. Members of the royal family in direct line to the throne became their own executioners when guilty of the crime of murder.
* * *
Reuel Briggs returned to the Hidden City with his faithful subjects, and old Aunt Hannah. There he spends his days in teaching his people all that he has learned in years of contact with modern culture. United to Candace, his days glide peacefully by in good works; but the shadows of great sins darken his life, and the memory of past joys is ever with him. He views, too, with serious apprehension, the advance of mighty nations penetrating the dark, mysterious forests of his native land.
“Where will it stop?” he sadly questions. “What will the end be?”
But none save Omnipotence can solve the problem.
To our human intelligence these truths depicted in this feeble work may seem terrible,—even horrible. But who shall judge the handiwork of God, the Great Craftsman! Caste prejudice, race pride, boundless wealth, scintillating intellects refined by all the arts of the intellectual world, are but puppets in His hand, for His promises stand, and He will prove His words, “Of one blood have I made all races of men.”
(THE END.)
About the Author
PAULINE HOPKINS (1859–August 1930) was born in Portland, Maine, to a family involved in academics, politics, and social activism. She attended Girls High School in Boston, where she was brought to the notice of William Wells Brown—then considered the nation’s premier black novelist—by winning first place in a writing contest for her essay, “Evils of Intemperance and Their Remedy.”
Hopkins’s teenage years saw her turn to stage performance, where she was highly regarded in both theatre and song. In 1879, when she was twenty, her family founded the Hopkins’ Colored Troubadours, a musical troupe that accompanied her on national tours where she starred in musical dramas including ones she wrote, including the play, Slaves’ Escape; or, The Underground Railroad (later revised as Peculiar Sam).
By 1900 her interests turned to journalism and publishing, where she had a break-out year. Her short story “Talma Gordon” was published, which has been since lauded as the first African-American mystery story. Also published in 1900 was her first novel, Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South, which explored racist violence of post–Civil War America. That same year, she became editor-in-chief for Colored American Magazine, which was the widest circulating African-American literary publication prior to the rise of Crisis magazine, published by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The bulk of Hopkins’s writing output occurred during the four years of 1900 through 1903, when she wrote the four novels and numerous short stories for which she is best known. After 1905, she seems to have stopped writing for the most part (excepting the novella Topsy Templeton, published serially in 1916), and distanced herself from public life, although there are records of her surfacing periodically to lend support for a social cause or new publishing venture.
She spent the remainder of her years working as a stenographer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pauline Hopkins died in 1930 from burns sustained in a house fire, leaving a legacy of civic action and literary triumph.
Suggested Discussion Questions
for Classroom Use
1. Of One Blood: or, The Hidden Self crosses several genres of fiction, including fantasy, adventure, horror, romance, and mystery. Do you think it’s important for a story to be defined clearly within one category of literature, or is it less important and that a book should be whatever the reader chooses to define it as? How would you describe this book to a friend?
2. This novel was originally published in a serialized format, meaning it was broken up and published over the course of several months, much like an episodic television show. What are some benefits of serializing a work rather than publishing it all at once as is traditionally done for a novel?
3. Author Pauline Hopkins was a firm believer in teaching people through reading. Her writing explored concepts of equality, race and gender relations, history, and social change, even while penning fiction that was filled with adventure, intrigue, and romance. Do you think it’s important to deliver learning opportunities or socially-conscious messages in fiction stories? Can you think of other examples of fiction that, besides being enjoyable for the story alone, also teach lessons of morality, safety, history, or of hope for change?
4. The term “Renaissance” refers to rediscovery or renewed interest in a field of study, such as a cultural, political, intellectual, or artistic revival. The era of the Harlem Renaissance, spanning the 1920s, saw great advancement in American literature, academics, music, and more. How does the subject matter of this novel, Of One Blood: or, The Hidden Self, fit into that?
5. A character arc is transformation of the character through thought, experience, and/or external factors, and is one of the most compelling methods to create investment in who a character is and what becomes of them. Author Pauline Hopkins was greatly skilled in creating rich and varied arcs for many of the characters in this book, giving them unexpected changes, for better or for worse. What do you think were some of the more notable transformations in characters over the course of their arc?
6. The ghost (or vision) of Dianthe appears both to Reuel and to Aubrey, though for different reasons. How would their actions or character arcs have been altered if she had not appeared to them, or if her supernatural interactions had been disbelieved by them? Do you think Reuel and Aubrey’s reactions were plausible? How would you have reacted in those situations?
7. There are many exciting scenes within this book. What were your favorites, or what scenes resonated strongest with you? How did you feel as you read them?
8. The first half of the book is set in refined Boston, Massachusetts, while the second half takes place in seemingly dangerous—yet ultimately utopian—regions of Africa. Besides the regional contrasts, the pacing of the novel also changes, as do the characters’ choices. For example, while in Boston, Reuel Briggs sees himself as White, while in Ethiopia, he learns to embrace his African heritage. What other contrasts can you find between sections of the book set in America against those set in Africa?
9. The ending of the book sees tragedy mourned, wrongdoers punished, and amends made. After it all, Reuel returns to the hidden city of Telassar to become ruler and teacher. Is this ending satisfactory to you? Why or why not?
10. What do you think of Reuel’s outlook toward money? At the beginning of the novel, he laments that he is nearly impoverished, yet he’s accepting of it while studying medicine and finding enjoyment and value in other aspects of life. Then he falls in love with Dianthe, and suddenly he cannot bear the idea of her having to live in poverty as he has done. So great is this concern, that he decides to leave her for two years in order to find the wealth he thinks is suitable for her standing. Do you agree with his decision in those circumstances? Although it’s done for the altruistic benefit of his love, he ultimately must leave behind his new bride to obtain it. Would you have taken the same risk to improve the quality of life for someone you love? Otherwise, what would you have done differently?
11. There are instances of prophetic ghosts, visions of the past, magical sight, mysticism, and mesmerism throughout this book. How do these supernatural occurrences tend to guide the characters? Have you ever experienced a supernatural occurrence? How did it change you?
12. Issues and roles of Black and White race are explored in
this book in ways that transgressed socially-accepted normalcies of the era, such as reversal of stereotypes, the effects of race as a social construct, and authenticating multi-racial identity, particularly through Reuel Briggs, a mixed heritage Black man, whose skin is so light that he can pass for a White man. Do you think those were important issues to discuss at the time of this book’s publication? How are these issues still important today?
13. What other messages or themes from this book from over one hundred years ago are still relevant in today’s society?
14. Jim Titus and Charlie Vance discover an immense treasure, described as, “a jumbled heap of gems—some large, some small, but together in value beyond all dreams of wealth.” What is the greatest treasure you could imagine finding? Do you think all people seek the same sorts of treasure? Can you think of anything you would consider a treasure that other people would not?
15. The closing line of this book relates to God, and states: He will prove His words, “Of one blood have I made all races of men.” What does this mean to you?
Suggested Further Reading of Fiction
For readers who have enjoyed Of One Blood: or, The Hidden Self and wish to further read works of similar voice, literary style, or theme—including supernatural elements in such topics as race identity; mesmerism; dream projection; early science fiction; Gothic romance; “Lost World” adventure from a non-European colonialism view; etc.—consider the following, which represent just a small selection of available great and commensurable books.
The Annotated African American Folktales (an anthology) edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar (2017): An immense compilation of over 150 African American folktales with commentary and essays, placing the work in historical background.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle (2016): A young Black street musician crosses a sorceress in Jazz-age New York, setting off a chain of events that opens him to a realm of Cthulhu-inspired mystery and power.
The Beetle by Richard Marsh (1897): A horror-mystery told by four points of view, in which a polymorphous ancient Egyptian entity attempts to seek revenge against a passionate British Member of Parliament.
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987): A Pulitzer Prize–winning novel about an escaped slave, haunted by guilt and the revenant of her infant child, whom she had killed years before rather than have the child live enslaved.
Claimed by Francis Stevens (1920): One of speculative fiction’s first female authors pens this novel about a recovered mysterious artifact and the haunting dreams and oceanic apparitions it brings to whomever should possess it.
The Concubine by Elechi Amadi (1966): In a Nigerian village, yet-untouched by European notions, a beautiful woman finds herself mysteriously cursed, so that any who love her suddenly die.
Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers (an anthology) edited by Brandon Massey (2004): A compilation of original short stories filled with themes of supernatural entities, heritage, race relations, and vibrant life experiences (set to dark occurrences).
The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World by Margaret Cavendish (1666): A forerunner to the genre of science fiction, in which a young woman enters a utopian kingdom set at the North Pole, where she becomes empress of talking animals and leads them to invade her former homeland.
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (1974): The Kid (both protagonist and unreliable narrator) travels through a strange city that is beset by unexplainable and mind-bending catastrophes, while The Kid’s own mind bends from various mental illnesses.
Efuru by Flora Nwapa (1966): A rich exploration of the life and growth of a young woman in a Nigerian village who finds meaning in life through her tribe’s goddess of the lake.
Everfair by Nisi Shawl (2016): A Neo-Victorian alternate history novel, told from multiple voices, in which a group of socialists and missionaries found a new nation—Everfair—as a safe haven for those fleeing slavery and Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
The Famished Road by Ben Okri (1991): The first novel of a trilogy, following a spirit child (abiku) who can travel to the spirit world while living in a Nigerian city of modern reality, a metaphor to define the coexistence of spiritual and material worlds around us.
Imaro by Charles Saunders (1980): The first in a series of sword-and-sorcery fantasy novels set in a fantasy world of Africa, Imaro is a young warrior who quests for identity and sense of justice in his adventurous and far-reaching wanderings.
Kalee’s Shrine by Grant Allen and May Cotes (1866): In this fantasy of mesmerism, an Anglo-Indian infant girl is made a votary of Kalee, vengeful goddess of the Thugs; in adulthood, it transpires that Kalee’s evil influence still lurks in Olga’s unconscious mind, waiting to be reawakened.
Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979): A young woman is inexplicably ricocheted in time between her current life in 1976 and that of her ancestors in pre–Civil War Maryland, where she must confront problematic issues of race, gender, power, and resistance.
The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826): An apocalyptic science fiction novel by the author of Frankenstein, in which a young nobleman recounts the final years of mankind living in a future Earth ravaged by plague.
Lion’s Blood by Steven Barnes (2002): An alternate history novel in which Islamic African aristocratic families rule America, indulging in the luxuries brought by the labor of their imported Irish slaves.
Mojo: Conjure Stories (an anthology) edited by Nalo Hopkinson (2003): A compilation of fantasy and horror short stories about gods, folklore, and magical beliefs of Africa.
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (1794): Cited as a quintessential Gothic romance novel, a young woman suffers the death of her parents, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle, and the intrigues of a contemptuous Italian nobleman.
The Other Side (German: Die andere Seite) by Alfred Kubin (1909): At the bequest of a childhood friend, a man and his wife travel to Perle, which happens also to be a journey into the subconscious and to the Dream Realm, where inhabitants experience relationships to things and people that are undetected in the waking world.
The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola (1952): The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, this quest tale (based on Yoruba folktales) follows a man who enters the land of the dead, encountering many spirits and adventures.
Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali by Djibril Tamsir Niane (1960): Part history and part legend, this epic tale is a retelling of thirteenth-century oral tradition relating to ghosts, culture, and majesty of medieval African kingship.
Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers: 1852–1923 (an anthology) edited by Lisa Morton and Leslie S. Klinger (2020): An anthology celebrating the short fiction classics of pioneering “women of the weird.”
Zofloya, or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre (1806): A purposefully melodramatic Gothic tale of scandal, sexual deviancy, and violent revenge, in which a wicked heroine shuns the mores of aristocratic views to reach her own ends.
About Series Editors
Eric J. Guignard has twice won the Bram Stoker Award®, been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and was a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize for his works of dark and speculative fiction. He has over one hundred stories and nonfiction credits appearing in publications around the world, has edited multiple anthologies, and has created an ongoing series of primers exploring modern masters of literary short fiction, titled: Exploring Dark Short Fiction. His latest books are his novel Doorways to the Deadeye and short story collection That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction (Cemetery Dance).
* * *
Leslie S. Klinger is the New York Times–bestselling editor of the Edgar®-winning New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and the Edgar®-winning Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s as well as numerous other annotated books, anthologies, and articles on Holmes, Dracula, Lovecraft, Franke
nstein, mysteries, horror, and the Victorian age. Twice nominated for the Bram Stoker Award® for Best Nonfiction, his work includes the acclaimed New Annotated Dracula and New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft as well as the World Fantasy Award–nominated New Annotated Frankenstein and several anthologies of classic vampire and horror fiction. His latest books are New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham and Annotated American Gods with Neil Gaiman.
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