Description
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Edward P. Jones crafts an ambitious and unflinching examination of slavery through the story of Henry Townsend, a Black farmer and former slave who becomes a landowner in antebellum Virginia. Under the mentorship of the county's most powerful man, Townsend builds his estate with meticulous discipline, carefully navigating the legal boundaries of his world. When his unexpected death leaves his widow, Caldonia, unable to maintain the delicate order he established, the household descends into chaos, revealing the moral complexities and contradictions that defined this dark chapter of American history. Jones transforms a historical footnote into an epic narrative that challenges readers to confront slavery in all its devastating dimensions, exploring themes of power, freedom, complicity, and the human cost of an indefensible system.
Available Editions
paperback
Amistad
Published Aug 29, 2006
432 pages
ISBN: 9780061159176
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Details
First Published
2003
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for The Known World by Edward P. Jones.