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Historical Fiction - African American/Black History Month February 2021 |
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The general's cook : a novel
by Ramin Ganeshram
The celebrated chef of President George Washington, Hercules hides the private torment of his enslaved status behind luxurious privileges and masterful culinary skills while secretly learning to read and pursuing a dangerous affair. 10,000 first printing.
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One night in Georgia : a novel
by Celeste O Norfleet
In the summer of 1968 three Manhattan co-eds embark on a road trip to Atlanta and find tensions running high as they make their way south via racially friendly locations for gas, rest and food. Original. 25,000 first printing.
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In West Mills : a novel
by De'Shawn Charles Winslow
A woman in mid-20th-century rural North Carolina, determined to live on her own terms in spite of community gossip, finds unexpected support from a veteran fixer who struggles with an inability to correct his own troubled past.
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Deacon King Kong
by James McBride
In the aftermath of a 1969 Brooklyn church deacon’s public shooting of a local drug dealer, the community’s African-American and Latinx witnesses find unexpected support from each other when they are targeted by violent mobsters. Tour.
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The water dancer : a novel
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
A Virginia slave narrowly escapes a drowning death through the intervention of a mysterious force that compels his escape and personal underground war against slavery. By the National Book Award-winning author of Between the World and Me. (historical fiction). (This book was listed in a previous issue of Forecast.) Tour.
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The known world
by Edward P. Jones
When a plantation proprietor and former slave--now possessing slaves of his own--dies, his household falls apart in the wake of a slave rebellion and corrupt underpaid patrollers who enable free black people to be sold into slavery. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 100,000 first printing.
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Conjure women : a novel
by Afia Atakora
A midwife and conjurer of curses reflects on her life before and after the Civil War, her relationships with the families she serves and the secrets she has learned about a plantation owner’s daughter. A first novel.
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The good lord bird
by James McBride
Fleeing her violent master at the side of legendary abolitionist John Brown at the height of the slavery debate in mid-19th-century Kansas Territory, Henry pretends to be a girl to hide his identity throughout the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. By the best-selling author of The Color of Water. (historical fiction).
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The prophets : a novel
by Robert Jones
Two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation find refuge in each other while transforming a quiet shed into a haven for their fellow slaves, before an enslaved preacher declares their bond sinful. A first novel.
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Black Bottom saints : a novel
by Alice Randall
A celebrated columnist, nightclub emcee and fine arts philanthropist draws inspiration from the Catholic Saints Day books while reflecting on his encounters with legendary black artists from the Great Depression through the post-World War II years. 25,000 first printing.
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The hidden light of Northern fires : a novel
by Daren Wang
A tale inspired by the lesser-known history of the only secessionist town north of the Mason-Dixon Line follows the experiences of an outspoken abolitionist who navigates Confederate adversaries, a slaver and her own brother to help a handsome escaped slave cross to freedom. A first novel.
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A shout in the ruins : a novel
by Kevin Powers
A sweeping and dramatic novel that spans 100 years and is set in Virginia during the Civil War and a century beyond explores the brutal legacy of violence and exploitation in American society as it examines the fates of the inhabitants of Beauvais Plantation and their descendants. By the author of The Yellow Birds. 100,000 first printing.
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