Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004 | 8:18 a.m.
The journey into the Third World country on the northeast coast of South America inspired a novel recently published by Joshua Tree, "Elisabeth Samson, Forbidden Bride."
The novel's title character is a freed black woman who lived during the 18th century in the Dutch colony of Suriname, which at the time was one of the wealthiest regions of South America.
Samson was well educated, acquired wealth, owned a plantation and slaves and had a certain amount of power, but she could not marry the man she loved because he was white and she was black. Mixed marriages were not allowed.
Proctor emphasized that the novel is not a romance. She described it as historical fiction in the genre of Tracy Chevalier's "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" and Arthur Golden's "Memoirs of a Geisha."
"About 95 percent of what I have written is true," said Proctor, a longtime Las Vegas resident who was the founding editor of Nevada Woman magazine. "But I've turned it into fiction so that it is easier to read."
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Proctor will be on hand at Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., for a slide presentation, using photographs she took during her tour of duty in Suriname.
Following the slide presentation there will be a question-and-answer session, and then Proctor will sign copies of her novel.
"In conjunction with this, branch manager Johnette Morales has graciously given me some space in a glass case for an exhibit of my collection of contemporary Maroon art," Proctor said.
"Maroon," from the French word "maronage," or "runaway," was the name given to slaves who escaped plantation life by fleeing deep into the rain forest, where they established villages and preserved some of their African culture.
"The exhibit is very interesting," Proctor said. "It shows the influence of the African slave culture mixed with Dutch influences."
The exhibit includes fabrics, carvings and paintings.
Proctor says she found the tale of Elisabeth Samson intriguing on many levels.
"From a historical standpoint, when I speak to most Americans, they think of slavery as unique to our South," Proctor said. "But it was common in other areas of the world.
"It was a surprise to me that in Suriname black people owned slaves. And there was a huge Jewish population there, many of whom also owned slaves."
Samson herself was a fascinating historical figure.
"She was very, very unusual for her time," Proctor said. "As far as I could determine from my research, she was one of very few female plantation owners -- and it's been pretty much determined that she did not inherit it from a white man.
"By the time she was 19 she owned slaves."
Proctor was training for the Peace Corps when she first learned about Samson.
"Cynthia McLeod, who was born and raised in Suriname, was hired by the Peace Corps to give a walking tour of the capital the first week we were there," Proctor said.
Carolyn's husband, Vegas comedian Cork Proctor, also joined the Peace Corps, and the couple were given the same geographic assignment.
"Cynthia had done a lot of research for a book on Samson in the Dutch language," Proctor said.
After deciding to write the novel, Proctor had McLeod's book translated to help in her research.
That decision came after Proctor not only learned about Samson's singular life, but also about the social events of the time.
"Elisabeth Samson's paramour, who lived with her and wanted to marry her, led the first major expedition into the interior jungles as a representative of the government to meet with the tribes to try and bring about peace.
"The tribes had been attacking and destroying plantations."
Proctor said she became familiar with the jungles during her first year in the country. She and her husband were assigned to a small village, which didn't have electricity.
"We spent a lot of time at night reading," Proctor said. "That's when I started thinking about writing a novel."
After a year her husband returned to the United States, but she remained to do research for her novel -- moving from the remote village in the Amazon basin to the capital, Paramaribo.
In the city, she worked on projects for the Foundation For Nature Conservation in Suriname. She was responsible for the layout, editing and printing of educational materials, including the booklets "Wild Birds of Paramaribo" and "The Monkeys of Suriname."
She also taught a class on textile design at the Nola Hatterman Art Institute in Paramaribo. Being in the city also gave her the opportunity to do extensive background research for her novel.
"I had the opportunity to learn more about the history of the country," Proctor said. "I learned where Elisabeth Samson's house was; where the slave market was."
While the story may be rich in historical fact, the essence of the tale is love.
"This was a woman who had everything money could buy and she could not marry the man she loved," Proctor said. "I think that is such an age-old story, illustrating that money can't buy happiness."
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