The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part 1: The Witnesses
A Novel
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The truth has been buried more than one hundred years . . .
Leading a small army of slaves, Nat Turner was a man born with a mission: to set the captives free. When words failed, he ignited an uprising that left over fifty whites dead. In the predawn hours of August 22, 1831, Nat Turner stormed into history with a Bible in one hand, brandishing a sword in the other. His rebellion shined a national spotlight on slavery and the state of Virginia and divided a nation’s trust. Turner himself became a lightning rod for abolitionists like Harriet Beecher Stowe and a terror and secret shame for slave owners.
In The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part 1: The Witnesses, Nat Turner’s story is revealed through the eyes and minds of slaves and masters, friends and foes. In their words is the truth of the mystery and conspiracy of Nat Turner’s life, death, and confession.
The Resurrection of Nat Turner spans more than sixty years, sweeping from the majestic highlands of Ethiopia to the towns of Cross Keys and Jerusalem in Southampton County. Using extensive research, Sharon Ewell Foster breaks hallowed ground in this epic novel, revealing long-buried secrets about this tragic hero.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Foster (Passing by Samaria), acclaimed author of several books she calls "gospel novels," writes vividly about faith and slavery in this fast-paced narrative. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, aims to clarify the accepted history of Nat Turner's prosecution. Turner, the Ethiopian turned American slave, is a well-read patriot in slaves' eyes, but an ornery slave who needs to be put in his place in his mistress's eyes. Foster describes the Southern hierarchy of women and slave owners and rebellious and submissive slaves with equally deft passages. On August 22, 1831, when dozens of white people are killed in an insurrection, Turner is the assumed culprit. Hundreds of slaves are killed for participating in the uprising. The details and plot are nearly flawless, except in some of the courtroom scenes, where the story sags and there's too much repetition. Despite a few dull pages and some confusing transition between plantation life and the life of Turner's mother, Nancie, in Africa, the story is riveting and expertly told by an inspired, practiced storyteller.
