Nettie's Travels

From letter fifty-five until the end of the book, Nettie chronicles through her letters to Celie her voyage from Georgia, USA to the Olinka tribe in the heart of Africa. The letter references for these visits are given below along with a map of Nettie’s first journey to Africa.

Letter 56 – Nettie leaves Georgia, for Harlem in New York

Letter 57 – Nettie leaves America for England. Her journey to Africa is via Lisbon in Portugal, Dakar in Senegal and Monrovia, Liberia.

Letter 80 – Nettie leaves for England to get help from the bishop and marry Samuel.

Letter 81 – Nettie, Samuel, Adam and Olivia leave again for Africa.

Letter 90 – Following a false telegram reporting Nettie’s death, Nettie returns to America to find Celie.

The following map may help you envisage the sort of journey Nettie had to take. Remember, however, that she was to return to England and revisit Africa later on before she returned to the United States.

Compiled by Matthew Kane [2001]

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