IN BRIEF: A Just Cause: A Tale of Historical Fiction
Reviewed by Addi Schwieterman
February 1, 2026
By Harriet J. Schley. Dorrance Publishing Company, 2025. 90 pages. $14/paperback; $9/eBook.
In this novel, Harriet Schley, a Quaker from Charlottesville, Va., imagines the inner workings of a fictional Southern family living through the Civil War. The Andrews are a family of five who rely on four enslaved people to run their household and farm. Throughout the book, the Andrews grapple with what the end of slavery might mean for the family.
Thomas Andrews owns a modest wheat farm in Virginia where two enslaved men, Shadrack and Moses, work in the barn and fields. Sadie and Jenny assist Thomas’s wife, Lyddie, with running the household. Lyddie, who grew up in a family who weren’t enslavers, often works alongside Sadie and Jenny. This contrasts Thomas’s approach: working with Shadrack and Moses from a distance.
I appreciate Schley’s attention to developing the stories of the enslaved people. While her portrayal of the Andrews can feel idealistic at times, there are moments where we’re shown flaws in Lyddie’s character. One occurs after Jenny and Shadrack escape, and selfishly Lyddie feels betrayed. She confides in Sadie that she was beginning to consider the women family, not slaves. Sadie responds, “I can never stop knowing I’m a slave.” And Lyddie will never know what that’s like.
A turning point for Thomas comes after he’s drafted to fight for the Confederates. During a battle, an enslaved man rescues him. This act challenges Thomas’s perspective, and he reflects on his shame; he begins to think differently of the man who helped him: “as just a person who had acted with generosity and indeed courage.”
In A Just Cause, Schley chronicles a shift in conscience for one white family as they realize the inhumanity of slavery and their part in it. The result is a powerful story for those who enjoy historical fiction.
Addi Schwieterman is a Quaker Voluntary Service Fellow (2025-2026) serving at Friends Journal.
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