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Krystal Marquis, an environmental, health and safety manager from Terryville, published her first novel, "The Davenports" on Jan. 31.
Contributed photo/Krystal Marquis
Krystal Marquis wanted to read a novel about Black excellence in early 20th-century America, but she couldn't find any on the bookshelves. So, she decided to write one.
The Terryville (Plymouth) native was in the midst of applying to medical school in 2019 when she participated in the November National Novel Writing Month challenge. That first draft became “The Davenports,” her debut novel and Barnes & Noble's February 2023 Young Adult Book Club Pick. The book is one of Barnes & Noble’s bestselling young adult reads and one of Amazon's hot new releases.
Set in Chicago in 1910, the historical fiction romance follows the immensely wealthy family of William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who amassed his fortune from establishing a carriage company. The story is told through the lens of four Black heroines: Davenport’s two daughters, Olivia and Helen, their maid Amy-Rose and the oldest daughter’s best friend, Ruby, as they navigate forbidden love and social barriers.
Marquis is currently writing the second novel of the series while working full time as an environmental, health and safety manager.
Hearst Connecticut Media sat down with Marquis to discuss her novel. (Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity).
Q. You're a first-time author with a novel covering Black excellence and it's Barnes & Noble's Young Adult Book Club pick during Black History Month. How does it feel seeing that feedback?
A. I've been really happy about that. I'm really excited for people to get to know the characters and to be inspired to ask more questions about the Black experience in the early 1900s.
There's always that hope that you'll write this book that's really well received. And it just kind of makes the whole late night, lack of sleep, that much sweeter.
Q. Where did the inspiration for this book come from?
A. Leading up to the summer of 2019, I came across the article that inspired "The Davenports." It was about a carriage company-turned-automobile company founded by C.R. Patterson, who had escaped enslavement in the late 1800s. It became the first and only Black-owned and operated automobile company.
Their story was one that I had not read before and that type of entrepreneurship wasn't really discussed in school. I saw that there were these pockets of success, entrepreneurship and wealth in major cities among the Black community that seemed isolated when I initially started my research. But now, I'm seeing that they are much more prevalent than I had initially thought.
Q. How is Black excellence portrayed in your book?
A. There was a lot of entrepreneurship that I think is highlighted in the progression of [C.R. Patterson's] story and his family's business. And as far as my novel, the Davenports’ best friend, Amy-Rose, she kind of has that ambition to build something from an idea. She wants to build a hair care line based on things that she learned from her mother and from the other women in her circle.
As a young reader, I didn't really see many photographs of Black people in ball gowns or corsets. A lot of these traditions were born in that era and are now part of sororities and fraternities that are incorporated into their celebration of achievement and excellence. I think I tried to reflect that into the pages.
Q. Could you talk about the importance of representation in young adult literature?
A. It's important because for me, at least, being able to see characters that look like you or come from the same background as you or probably had the same experiences, it can really show you what's possible. I think it's easier to have aspirations when you can see that there is a path to a goal.
I think having it in young adult literature especially is important because that's a big time change. A lot of students and young readers are trying to decide who they want to be and what they want to do. So seeing those positive examples can really give confidence towards attaining those goals that they may have.
One of my characters, she's biracial. And I had a mixed race reader reach out to me and say that she felt like she saw herself in that character. And she was very happy. And it made her cry. She felt like she was seen and I felt like that was pretty special to me.
Q. How is the book's historical context depicted through the lens of the main characters?
A. [The Civil Rights movement] is portrayed mostly through the eyes of Olivia, one of the daughters, as someone who's new and is just learning about the challenges that Black Americans are experiencing. She's mostly taking readers on a journey as she learns. She kind of discovers how maybe she was brought up differently compared to how other Black people experienced moving through the world, those who come from states where there is segregation and Jim Crow legislation.
Q. In what ways does gender identity play a role in “The Davenports”?
A. [The main characters] still have those limitations of having to defer to the male members of their family, having an escort and not being alone with another person of the opposite sex. But it is also during a time where women are entering the workforce, and they have their own money, and they're looking for their own independence. And I think Amy-Rose's character, as the maid, kind of has that freedom because she's already in the workforce to try and to forge out on her own.
It also touches on the suffrage movement. Olivia especially is navigating this newfound knowledge of what's going on in the South, women's rights to vote and better factory conditions.