The papers of Wheeler, who served as ambassador to Nicaragua, are held at the Library of Congress. But no one seemed to have looked at his almanacs, where he had the habit of making marginal notes. In one, Wheeler had jotted a list of enslaved people in his household, which helped Hecimovich build his list of possible authors. Her novel also includes a scene set in a portrait gallery, which similarly mocks the aristocratic pretensions of enslavers. Many of Hecimovich’s findings will also be used in a new edition of “The Bondwoman’s Narrative” that he’s working on with Gates.

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Persons: Wheeler, Hecimovich, …, Thomas Pugh, Crafts’s, David Cecelski Organizations: Library of Congress Locations: Nicaragua, Louisiana, Jamaica, North Carolina, Gates