Synopses & Reviews
The Book of Negroes (based on the novel Someone Knows My Name) will be BET's first miniseries. The star-studded production includes lead actress Aunjanue Ellis (Ray, The Help), Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men), Oscar and Emmy winner Louis Gossett Jr. (A Raisin in the Sun, Boardwalk Empire), and features Lyriq Bent (Rookie Blue), Jane Alexander (The Cider House Rules), and Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line). Director and co-writer Clement Virgo is a feature film and television director (The Wire) who also serves as producer with executive producer Damon D Oliveira (What We Have).
In this transporting (Entertainment Weekly) and heart-stopping (Washington Post) work, Aminata Diallo, one of the strongest women characters in contemporary fiction, is kidnapped from Africa as a child and sold as a slave in South Carolina. Fleeing to Canada after the Revolutionary War, she escapes to attempt a new life in freedom.
Review
"A masterpiece, daring and impressive in its geographic, historical and human reach." Globe and Mail
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"Lawrence Hill's hugely impressive historical work is completely engrossing and deserves a wide, international readership." Delia Jarrett-Macauley
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"With grace and compassion, Hill populates true and harrowing experience with an authentic hero--just as good historical fiction requires." Washington Post
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"I found myself surprised on occasion to catch sight of Mr. Hill's name on the cover.... He had me believing that this tale came not from the imagination and research of a 21st-century male author, but from the experience of an 18th-century African woman." Jennifer Berman Bookforum
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"An inspirational novel of imaginative excellence and captivating power.... Every step of the way, Lawrence Hill offers readers a vivid portrayal of the emotional landscape that brings Aminata's tale to life. I highly recommend reading this poignant book." Kim Lundstrom Real Change
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"Astonishing in scope, humanity and beauty, this is one of those very rare novels in which the deep joy of reading transcends its time and place. Like ?, ? lets readers experience a life, one footstep at a time, beside an unforgettable protagonist." Charles Shea LeMone Roanoke Times
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"Stunning, wrenching and inspiring.... Hill handles the pacing and tension masterfully... [his] book is a harrowing, breathing tour de force." Eileen Charbonneau Historical Novels Review - Editor - & - #39;s Choice
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"Dramatic... Hill captures Aminata's power." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Lawrence Hill's award-winning novel is a major television miniseries airing on BET Networks.
About the Author
Lawrence Hill is the Commonwealth Award-winning author of The Book of Negroes, previously published as Someone Knows My Name, which was made into a television miniseries and has sold one million copies internationally. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, and Woody Point, Newfoundland.