The earliest known prison memoir by an African American writer—recently discovered and authenticated by a team of Yale scholars—sheds light on the longstanding connection between race and incarceration in America.“[A] harrowing [portrait] of life behind bars . . . part confession, part jeremiad, part lamentation, part picaresque novel (reminiscent, at times, of Dickens and Defoe).”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesNAMED ...

Crossing Borders is a gathering of twenty original, interdisciplinary essays on the paradigm of borders in African American literature, multi-ethnic U.S. studies, and South Asian studies. These essays by established and mid-career scholars from around the globe employ a variety of approaches to the idea of “border crossings” and represent important contributions to the discourses on modernity, diasporic mobility, populism, migration, exile, sub-nation, trans-nation, as well as the formatio...

No book more vividly explains the horror of American slavery and the emotional impetus behind the antislavery movement than Frederick Douglass’s Narrative. In an introductory essay, Robert B. Stepto reexamines the extraordinary life and achievement of a man who escaped from slavery to become a leading abolitionist and one of our most important writers. The John Harvard Library text reproduces the first edition, published in Boston in 1845.

The earliest known prison memoir by an African American writer—recently discovered and authenticated by a team of Yale scholars—sheds light on the longstanding connection between race and incarceration in America.“[A] harrowing [portrait] of life behind bars . . . part confession, part jeremiad, part lamentation, part picaresque novel (reminiscent, at times, of Dickens and Defoe).”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesNAMED ...

A sparkling talent makes her fiction debut with this infectious novel that combines the charming pluck of Eloise, the poignant psychological quirks of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and the page-turning spirit of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years. But after falling prey to a Bernie Madoff-style ponzi scheme, she’s flat broke. Now Mimi must write a...

A first-date dud, socially awkward, and overly fond of quick-dry clothes, genetics professor Don Tillman has given up on love, until a chance encounter gives him an idea.He will design a questionnaire - a 16-page, scientifically researched questionnaire - to uncover the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker or a late-arriver. Rosie is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent, strangely beguiling, and looking for her biological fa...

️ "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." ️ Frederick Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is one of the most powerful and enduring autobiographies ever written—a firsthand account of oppression, resistance, and the unbreakable spirit of freedom. Published in 1845, this landmark work chronicles Douglass's journey from enslavement to emancipation, detailing his early life on Maryland plantations, his brutal treatment under slavery, and his ultimate escape t...

The remarkable true story of a turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued—a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was served—from bestselling author of the Edgar finalist, Murder of the Century.In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalist...

To escape slavery, light-skinned Ellen Craft disguised herself as a male enslaver. Her husband, William, who was darker skinned, posed as her valet. They successfully traveled to the North, and eventually to England, where they published a narrative recounting their lives in slavery and their daring escape.

A unique historical thriller takes on the true mysteries of Lincoln’s assassination "with verve, humor and impressive scholarship” (Time).In 1868, Pinkerton Detective Nicholas Cosgrove is tasked with tracking down John Wilkes Booth, a man who should be three years in his grave. Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin, was also a skilled actor and master of disguise, and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton suspects he may still be at large. But Cosgrove unearths mor...

In "The Confessions of Nat Turner," the eponymous protagonist recounts the harrowing journey that culminated in the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia. Written in a deeply confessional style, the text oscillates between a stark realism and poignant introspection, capturing the psychological turmoil of enslaved individuals and their struggle for dignity and autonomy. The narrative stands as both a historical document and a piece of creative literature, inviting readers into the complexities o...

According to Wikipedia: "Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia", Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African-American history and United States history. In 1872, Douglass became the very first African-American nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate in the U...