The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

As a prelude to February's Black History Month, our Minister, the Rev. Brian Copeland, asked congregation members to read Lawrence Hill's novel, "The Book of Negroes." One of his sermon's that month will centre on the book. I have just finished reading the novel and recommend it to all who are interested in the history of the Tri-Angular Trade in slaves, sugar and industrial goods.




"This remarkable novel transports the reader from an African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from a soured refuge in Nova Scotia to the coast of Sierra Leone, in the back to Africa odyssey of 1,200 former slaves. The Book of Negroes introduces one of the strongest female characters in recent fiction, a woman who cuts a swath through a world hostile to her colour and her sex."


Note: "The Book of Negroes" is "a historic British military ledger allowing 3,000 Black Loyalists passage on ships sailing from Manhattan to Nova Scotia. " The actual ledger can be viewed in the archives of Nova Scotia, Canada, the USA and the United Kingdom.