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Book Description:
Henry Townsend, a black farmer, bootmaker, and former slave, has a fondness for Paradise Lost and an unusual mentor -- William Robbins, perhaps the most powerful man in antebellum Virginia's Manchester County. Under Robbins's tutelage, Henry becomes proprietor of his own plantation -- as well as of his own slaves. When he dies, his widow, Caldonia, succumbs to profound grief, and things begin to fall apart at their plantation: slaves take to escaping under the cover of night, and families who had once found love beneath the weight of slavery begin to betray one another. Beyond the Townsend estate, the known world also unravels: low-paid white patrollers stand watch as slave "speculators" sell free black people into slavery, and rumors of slave rebellions set white families against slaves who have served them for years.
An ambitious, luminously written novel that ranges seamlessly between the past and future and back again to the present, The Known World weaves together the lives of freed and enslaved blacks, whites, and Indians -- and allows all of us a deeper understanding of the enduring multidimensional world created by the institution of slavery.
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Genres:
- Literature & Fiction >> General >> Contemporary
- Literature & Fiction >> General >> Literary
- Literature & Fiction >> Genre Fiction >> Historical
- Literature & Fiction >> Short Stories >> United States
- Substores >> Reading Group Guides >> Literature & Fiction >> Popular Fiction
Other Versions of this Book: Paperback, Audio Cassette (Today Show Book Club)
Rate These Member Reviews
Jones' intriguing novel is based on the little-known historical fact of black slaveowners in antebellum south. As setting, he constructs a fictional world so compelling readers will want to track the locations on maps. Full of sorrow and heartache, this impressive work invites us to rethink the histories of the South we so often take for granted.
This was an excellent book. It gave me a new understanding of the multiple layers of families, black and white, who were involved in slavery.
This book was so thought provoking~freed slaves owning slaves...very difficult to wrap my brain around anyone owning slaves of course, but I was riveted. Jones seamlessly moved from one time period to another, giving glimpses of the futures of some of the characters. He gives amazing/horrifying details at points, but leaves the judging up to us. A great read by an incredibly talented author.
"So utterly original that it makes most everything previously written about slavery seem outdated and pedestrian. it belongs on a shel with other classics...like Beloved and The Confessions of Nat Turner." Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stacey M. from HALLOWELL, ME wrote on 2/26/2007...A powerful and unforgettable story.
Paula P. from SEEKONK, MA wrote on 1/1/2007...This book won the Pulitzer Prize. It seems facinating. I have 2 copies. This one does have an upturned bottom corner, otherwise good. Great spine and cover.
Kathy S. from UNITYVILLE, PA wrote on 12/28/2006...In one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory,Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize winner, tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins,the most powerful man in Manchester County , Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law ,Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly,his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order and chaos ensues. In a daring and ambitious novel , Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all of it's moral complexities.
Betty S. from TALLAHASSEE, FL wrote on 8/22/2006...Winner of the PULITZER PRIZE. The story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order and chaos ensurs. In a daring and ambitious novel, Jones has wovn a footnote of history into an ipic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all of its moral complexities.
Valli A. (