A review by jennie_cole
Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self by Pauline E. Hopkins

3.0

Of One Blood by Pauline Hopkins is a novel from the first decade of the twentieth century set in post Civil War Boston. The story centers around Reuel Briggs, a medical student, and his friends, Livingston and Vance. The house next door to the Vance's has a Halloween legend. Years before there were some family murders and the ghost of a woman remains and sometimes appears on Halloween. The friends decide to test this out and Briggs sees her, but he has seen her before. Briggs ends up on a trip to Ethiopia to find ancient treasures. But the trip maybe more dangerous than originally thought.

This story is a great blend of historical fiction, mysticism, and fantasy. The other great element is that it is story from a female writer of the Harlem Renaissance. Because of this the story and structure are very different from what you would read today. This might cause modern readers to have initial reactions to the writing but move past that and enjoy the story of these characters.