About the Author
Lawrence Hill was born in Ontario, Canada of a black father and a white mother. He is
the author of a memoir, Black Berry, Sweet Juice, a work of non-fiction, The Deserter’s
Tale, and two other novels. His third novel, The Book of Negroes (published in the US as
Somebody Knows My Name) was a no.1 bestseller in Canada, and won the 2008
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book.
Featured books by Lawrence Hill
The Book of Negroes
A hard-to-put-down, excellent read of slavery, harrowing but full of love and hope. The characters are very real and the writing is gripping. Based on fact, the actual document of ‘The Book of Negroes’, which is a list of all those who were taken by the British from America to Canada. This is the story of one such, Aminata, an intelligent, brave woman of immense strength and determination who follows her dream, whatever happens, to return to Africa. It won the 2008 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. It is an epic, sweeping, magnificent tale, not to be missed. Comparison: Andrea Levy, Toni Morrison, Khaled Hosseini.
Other books by Lawrence Hill
The Illegal A Novel
Keita Ali is an elite runner living in Zantoroland, a poor, fictional island that is erupting in political violence. When his father, a journalist, is murdered, Keita escapes to the wealthy nation of Freedom State-an imagined country much like our own. A stateless refugee without documentation, Keita must hide from the authorities even as he races marathons to support himself and ransom his sister who has been kidnapped. This tension-filled novel by the best-selling author of Someone Knows My Name is an astute exploration of dislocation, starting all over again, and the desperate need for home and community.
Dear Sir, I Intend to Burn Your Book An Anatomy of a Book Burning
Censorship and book burning are still present in our lives. Lawrence Hill shares his experiences of how ignorance and the fear of ideas led a group in the Netherlands to burn the cover of his widely successful novel, The Book of Negroes, in 2011. Why do books continue to ignite such strong reactions in people in the age of the Internet? Is banning, censoring, or controlling book distribution ever justified? Hill illustrates his ideas with anecdotes and lists names of Canadian writers who faced censorship challenges in the twenty-first century, inviting conversation between those on opposite sides of these contentious issues. All who are interested in literature, freedom of expression, and human rights will enjoy reading Hill's provocative essay.
The Book of Negroes
A hard-to-put-down, excellent read of slavery, harrowing but full of love and hope. The characters are very real and the writing is gripping. Based on fact, the actual document of ‘The Book of Negroes’, which is a list of all those who were taken by the British from America to Canada. This is the story of one such, Aminata, an intelligent, brave woman of immense strength and determination who follows her dream, whatever happens, to return to Africa. It won the 2008 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. It is an epic, sweeping, magnificent tale, not to be missed. Comparison: Andrea Levy, Toni Morrison, Khaled Hosseini.
Someone Knows My Name A Novel
Kidnapped from Africa as a child, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned their freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice of the new colony prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people. It is a story that no listener, and no reader, will ever forget. Published in Canada as The Book of Negroes and the basis for the award-winning BET miniseries of the same name.
Someone Knows My Name
Aminata Diallo (an amazing literary creation, Literary Review of Canada) is the beguiling heroine of Lawrence Hills SOMEONE KNOWS MY NAME. In it, Hill exquisitely imagines the tale of an eighteenth-century womans life, spanning six decades and three continents. The fascinating story that Hill tells is a work of the soul and the imagination. Aminata is a character who will stir listeners, from her kidnapping from Africa through her journeys back and forth across the ocean.Enslaved on a South Carolina plantation, Aminata works in the indigo fields and as a midwife. When she is bought by an entrepreneur from Charleston, she is torn from friends and family. The chaos of the Revolutionary War allows her to escape. In British-held Manhattan, she helps pen the Book of Negroes, a list of blacks rewarded for wartime service to the King with safe passage to Nova Scotia. During her travels in Canada, Sierra Leone, and England, Aminata strives for her freedom and that of her peopleeven when it comes at a price.In this captivating novel, Hill portrays one womans remarkable spirit and strength in the face of adversity, and he brings to life crucial and little-known chapters in world history.
Someone Knows My Name A Novel
Abducted from Africa as a child and enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata Diallo thinks only of freedom-and of the knowledge she needs to get home. Sold to an indigo trader who recognizes her intelligence, Aminata is torn from her husband and child and thrown into the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan, Aminata helps pen the Book of Negroes, a list of blacks rewarded for service to the king with safe passage to Nova Scotia. There Aminata finds a life of hardship and stinging prejudice. When the British abolitionists come looking for adventurers to create a new colony in Sierra Leone, Aminata assists in moving 1,200 Nova Scotians to Africa and aiding the abolitionist cause by revealing the realities of slavery to the British public. This captivating story of one woman's remarkable experience spans six decades and three continents and brings to life a crucial chapter in world history.
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