The Black Rose: The Dramatic Story of Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Black Female Millionaire

The story of Sarah Breedlove, who became the first American woman millionaire, Madam C. J. Walker, is fascinating in and of itself. But, in the hands of wordsmith Tananarive Due, the life story of one of America’s forgotten treasures is a gem on your bookshelf.Based on the preliminary research and outline by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Alex Haley, before his death, Due captures the obstacles and tenacity of being Black and a woman in the United States after reconstruction.Born on a plantation to former slaves in Delta, Louisiana in 1867 during reconstruction, Walker established the first million-dollar company, Madame C.J. Walker Laboratories, owned by a woman of color before the beginning of the suffragette movement and decades before the repel of “Jim Crow”.From “pissed” poor conditions, the 14-year-old Breedlove began her entrepreneurial career selling fried fish to longshore men on the Mississippi. After the murder of her husband at the hands of a mob, she took her only child. A’Lelia, to St. Louis. There she began washing clothes for $1.50 a day. She acquired a head ailment that infected her scalp and caused her hair loss. The constant scratching cause blistering and when a client complained about a spot on a white tablecloth, Breedlove began experimenting with homemade concoctions and store-bought products to save her business. The product cured her infection and reversed her hair loss. She began selling the elixir door to door with A’Lelia in tow.By the time of her death in 1919, Breedlove, who had remarried Charles J. Walker, had an estimated net worth of 1.5 million dollars in today’s money. The Walker Laboratories, located in Indianapolis, consisted of her own manufacturing company, a national door-to-door salesforce, a hair school in St. Louis where she taught other women how to run a hair business using “The Walker Method.”The recount of Madam C.J. Walker’s life will inspire you and give you a sense of the societal barriers she had to overcome as both a woman and African-American from both European-Americans and members of her own race. In reading this novel based on fact, your belief in the American dream will be reaffirmed.

This is a very well written novel about the life of one of the greatest African American women and enterprenuers in the history of this country. The author did a great job of meticulously outlining the life and struggles of Madam CJ Walker, from her very young life until the time of her death. Although I would like to believe that all of the information contained in the book was true and accurate (with the exception of a few characters which the author indicates are fictional) I thought the book could have been more self authenticating if it contained footnoted and outlined references to certain aspects of the Madam's life referred to and mentioned in the novel.The author had at her disposal research conducted by Alex Hailey and refereneces to his research during the novel would have led to more authenticity. To that extent, it was difficult to determine which aspects of Madam CJ Walker's life were factual and those which were fictional. I hope in writing the novel, the author stuck as close as possible to the events in the life of this great woman.However, all in all, I thought the novel was very well written and captured the attention of the reader.

I think it’s very important to learn about those who have contributed to elevating other people. I am so glad that I learned about Madam CJ Walker and all that she did for Negro women. It’s an inspiring story that I hope more people will read about.

This book could have been penned by Alex Haley himself. It is written with the same ability that he had. The ability to draw you into the lives of the characters. While reading this book I was sad that I hadn't heard of Madame Walker before. This is a well written book that I am sure she would have been pleased to read.

Mere words cannot justly express the greatness of Tananarive Due's magnificent fictional account of the life of one of Americas greatest rag-to-riches stories: i.e., namely the saga of Sara Breedlove McWilliams Walker, better known as Madam C.J. Walker. A monumental tribute to the concept of self-determination and intestinal fortitude, the story of Madam Walker is inspirational and totally captivating. Miss Due expertly carries the reader from Walker's humble and devastating post-Civil War beginnings through harsh economic and social struggles to world-wide acclaim as the first black female millionaire. Along the way, Madam Walker rubs elbows with the likes of pioneer educators Mary McLeod-Bethune and Booker T. Washington, composer James Weldon Johnson, social activist W.E.B. Dubois, the great opera star Caruso, who is credited with naming Walker's estate, and, to a lesser extent, President Theodore Roosevelt. But, it is not just the famous who are instrumental in the making of this truly outstanding woman. Her parents Owen and Minerva Breedlove, siblings Louvenia and Alex, respective husbands Moses and C.J, as well as trusted friends and employees, and adversaries are all vividly characterized by memorable descriptive passages and lines. Whether or not the events of the novel are romanticized to fir the larger-than-life Walker, the book is one that accomplishes the author's intent: i.e., it elevates an American original to her place of importance as one of this country's "queens" of business and social change.

This a beautifully written account of the unbelievable struggles of a wonderful woman who overcomes impossible odds to achieve a richly successful life!

Thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction story of the life of Madam C.J. Walker. While the story was not 100% accurate, it was still quite informative and entertaining. (There were some things that I accidently uncovered when I googled Madam Walker to see a picture) Tananarive Due is a great story teller and kept me intrigued throughout the story. This telling of Madam Walker has intrigued me to also read the biography written by her great great granddaughter.

enjoyed