The Prophets (Signed First Edition, First Printing)

Jones Jr. Robert

ISBN 10: 059308568X / ISBN 13: 9780593085684

Published by Putnam, 2021

About this Item

Signed First Edition, First Printing of this historical novel set on a pre Civil War plantation in the Deep South and centered on two enslaved men who form a gay bond as they struggle to survive in bondage. Robert Jone Jr. is also the activist known as Son of Baldwin. Signed by Robert Jones Jr. on the title page. 388 pages. No sign of previous use. Has a removable Strand Signed Edition sticker on the front cover of the dust jacket.

Seller Inventory # 015830

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Prophets (Signed First Edition, First Printing)
• Publisher: Putnam
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 059308568X
• ISBN 13: 9780593085684
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Best Book of the Year
NPR • The Washington Post • Boston Globe • TIME • USA Today • Entertainment Weekly • Real Simple • Parade • Buzzfeed • Electric Literature • LitHub • BookRiot • PopSugar • Goop • Library Journal • BookBub • KCRW

• Finalist for the National Book Award
• One of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year
• One of the New York Times Best Historical Fiction of the Year
• Instant New York Times Bestseller 

A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence.

Isaiah was Samuel's and Samuel was Isaiah's. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master's gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel's love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation's harmony.

With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr., fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alike, from Isaiah and Samuel to the calculating slave master to the long line of women that surround them, women who have carried the soul of the plantation on their shoulders. As tensions build and the weight of centuries—of ancestors and future generations to come—culminates in a climactic reckoning, The Prophets fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.