Known World, The - Softcover

Jones, Edward P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061159174 ISBN 13: 9780061159176

Publisher: Amistad, 2013

Synopsis

One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Known World is a daring and ambitious work by Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones.

The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.

About this title

Review:

"A grand and inspired work of historical fiction. . .[It] deserves every word of praise that comes its way."--Chicago Tribune Books

"Stunning....Pitch-perfect....Too much cannot be said about Mr. Jones gifts as a storyteller and a stylist."--The Washington Times

"If Jones. . .keeps up this level of work, he'll equal the best fiction Toni Morrison has written about being black in America."--Speakeasy

"A stunning debut novel."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Heartrending....[The Known World] walks with the pace and solemnity of the Bible."--Dallas Morning News

"Stunning....His first novel is...likely to win acclaim."--New York Times

"Fascinating . . .There is grief and fear, genuine affection an envy in this complex and fine novel."--Philadelphia Inquirer

"'The Known World' is a great novel, one that may eventually be placed with the best of American Literature."--San Diego Union-Tribune

"Brilliant...Jones' novel movingly evokes one small landscape of a larger map that so stubbornly yields up its truths today"--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"An incredible saga."--Essence

About the Author:

Edward P. Jones, the New York Times bestselling author, has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, for fiction, the National Book Critics Circle award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and the Lannan Literary Award for The Known World; he also received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2004. His first collection of stories, Lost in the City, won the PEN/Hemingway Award and was short listed for the National Book Award. His second collection, All Aunt Hagar's Children, was a finalist for the Pen/Faulkner Award. He has been an instructor of fiction writing at a range of universities, including Princeton. He lives in Washington, D.C.

About this edition

• Publisher: Amistad
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0061159174
• ISBN 13: 9780061159176
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 434