The Known World (Magill’s Literary Annual 2004)
At a glance:
- Author: Edward P. Jones
- First Published: 2003
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1855
- Setting: The fictional Manchester County, in Virginia.
- Principal Characters: Henry Townsend, Caldonia Townsend, Augustus Townsend, Moses, William Robbins, John Skiffington, Fern Elston, Celeste, Elias, Stamford Crow Blueberry, Counsel Skiffington, Louis, Calvin
- Genres: Long fiction, Novel
- Subjects: African Americans, Virginia, Freedom, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Power, personal or social, Blacks, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Class consciousness, Plantations or plantation life, Hypocrisy, Morality or morals
- Locales: Virginia, Fictional locale
Edward P. Jones has published stories and articles in a variety of venues, and his first book, the short-story collection Lost in the City (1992), earned a PEN/Hemingway Award. In his ambitious and significant first novel, The Known World, Jones has broken new ground. Centered on the death of a black slave owner in the decade before the Civil War, The Known World employs a host of characters in its consideration of slavery, unrestrained power, morality, and racism.
As a popular subject in literature, film, and legend, the great horror of slavery sometimes...
[The entire page is 1780 words long]
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