Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons

Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, a young girl is purchased by the wealthy Wheatley family in Boston.

Phillis Wheatley—as she comes to be known—has an eager mind and it leads her on an unusual path for a slave—she becomes America’s first published black poet. Taught by the master’s son Nathaniel to read classical verse, she soon masters Latin, composing lines that astonish the household.

Nurtured by owners who display her verse across Boston, she remains caught in a delicate arrangement—celebrated for her learning while held fast as personal property. When skeptical dignitaries demand proof of her authorship, eighteen prominent leaders assemble at Province House to examine her knowledge of the classics.

A voyage to London under Nathaniel’s escort secures English patrons—meeting Benjamin Franklin and seeing her poems bound for print.

“Strong characterization and perceptive realism mark this thoughtful portrayal.”—Booklist
Black History: Drawing strength from a treasured cowrie shell given by her mother on the slave ship, Phillis preserves the memory of her African homeland while navigating life in eighteenth-century New England.American Revolution: Amid the rising turmoil of the Boston Tea Party and armed conflict in Massachusetts, she pens an ode to George Washington and earns a personal invitation to his Cambridge camp.Coming of Age: Through private letters with her friend Obour Tanner in Newport, Phillis weighs her growing artistic fame against the harsh realities of bondage and the search for genuine independence.Colonial America: From secret study sessions by candlelight to fraught household rivalries with fellow servants Prince and Sulie, colonial society tests her loyalty at every turn.Also by This Author: A Break with Charity, The Coffin Quilt and The Fifth of March.