Book Reading with Kenyette Spencer Mills Author of The Dressmakers Secret

Take a journey through history with griot—the traditional African storyteller— Kenyette Spencer Mills as she reads powerful excerpts from her forthcoming historical novel, The Dressmaker’s Secret. Through Kenyette’s words, history is not only remembered—it breathes!

The Dressmaker’s Secret is a sweeping historical saga told across multiple volumes, tracing America’s origins from the arrival of English settlers at Jamestown, through the forced journey of the first Africans brought to Point Comfort, Virginia in 1619, and honoring the Indigenous peoples who governed and stewarded the land long before colonization. The saga follows the evolution of colonial law—from early, fluid systems of indentured servitude to the brutal codification of race-based chattel slavery—revealing how power, race, and freedom were redefined. 

This unforgettable tale brings to life the brutal realities and quiet resilience of the enslaved, weaving their stories with those of forgotten historical figures such as John Mottram, Colonel Nicholas Spencer, Jost Hite, and Robert Carter—men who helped forge the economy of slavery in the early colonies and shaped the destinies of America’s founding fathers: George Washington, James Monroe, James Madison, Henry Lighthorse Lee, and Thomas Jefferson. 

This is a free program that will take place on the lower level of the Belle Grove Manor House at 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown, Virginia.