The best Abolitionist books

The famous Benin Bronzes are among the most prized possessions of the British Museum. Celebrated for their great beauty, they embody the history, myth, and artistry of the ancient Kingdom of Benin, once the most powerful in West Africa and now part of Nigeria. But despite their renown, little has been written about the brutal act of imperial violence through which the Bronzes were plundered. This incisive new history tells that neglected story: the 1897 British invasion of Benin.

Diving into the archives, Blood and Bronze sets the assault on Benin in its late Victorian context. As Britain faced new commercial and strategic pressures on its power elsewhere, it ruthlessly expanded its rule in West Africa. Revealing both the extent of African resistance and previously concealed British outrages, this is a definitive account of the conquest and destruction of Benin. 

As the United States teeters on the brink of Civil War and death threats pour into the White House, Col. Charles P. Rook takes on the responsibility of presidential protection. Meanwhile, a mysterious killer hired by a secessionist leader slips into Washington, D.C., seeking to murder Abraham Lincoln. As the bodies pile up, Rook realizes that he’s caught in a dangerous game with a cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to complete his mission. His best hope is Portia, a runaway slave who holds the key to the assassin’s identity—if only she can stay alive long enough to deliver it. Packed with dynamic characters, rich period detail, and a sinister villain, The First Assassin is a riveting thriller for fans of historical fiction. Praise from Vince Flynn: “An excellent book—it’s like The Day of the Jackal, set in 1861 Washington.”

A cultural biography of John Brown, the controversial abolitionist who used violent tactics against slavery before the Civil War and single-handedly changed the course of American history. Brown’s most violent acts—including his killing of proslavery settlers in Kansas and his historic raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia--were inspired by the slave revolts, guerilla warfare, and revolutionary Christianity of the day. Viewed by Southerners as a satanic abolitionist and by many Northerners as a Christlike martyr who gave his life for Black people, Brown polarized the nation and ratcheted up the tensions between the sections. He permeated American culture during the Civil War and beyond, and he planted the seeds of the civil rights movement by making a pioneering demand for complete social and political equality for America’s ethnic minorities.

A cultural biography of John Brown, the controversial abolitionist who used violent tactics against slavery before the Civil War and single-handedly changed the course of American history. Brown’s most violent acts—including his killing of proslavery settlers in Kansas and his historic raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia--were inspired by the slave revolts, guerilla warfare, and revolutionary Christianity of the day. Viewed by Southerners as a satanic abolitionist and by many Northerners as a Christlike martyr who gave his life for Black people, Brown polarized the nation and ratcheted up the tensions between the sections. He permeated American culture during the Civil War and beyond, and he planted the seeds of the civil rights movement by making a pioneering demand for complete social and political equality for America’s ethnic minorities.

A cultural biography of John Brown, the controversial abolitionist who used violent tactics against slavery before the Civil War and single-handedly changed the course of American history. Brown’s most violent acts—including his killing of proslavery settlers in Kansas and his historic raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia--were inspired by the slave revolts, guerilla warfare, and revolutionary Christianity of the day. Viewed by Southerners as a satanic abolitionist and by many Northerners as a Christlike martyr who gave his life for Black people, Brown polarized the nation and ratcheted up the tensions between the sections. He permeated American culture during the Civil War and beyond, and he planted the seeds of the civil rights movement by making a pioneering demand for complete social and political equality for America’s ethnic minorities.

Why did human rights as an idea first take root in the eighteenth century with the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man? How did people who had lived for centuries in aristocratic societies with slave economies come to believe that “all men are created equal”? The answers are to be found in the rejection of torture; the changing notion of human relationships displayed by novelists and artists; and the rise of empathy for those of different social stations. Equality only became imaginable when people learned that other people, people very different from themselves, felt the same emotions and faced the same life problems and that their sameness meant they deserved the same rights and respect as fellow humans.

The heroine is Lily Briscoe taken from Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Set between 1900 and 1919 in picturesque Cornwall and war-blasted London, Talland House depicts Lily’s emotional journey in becoming a professional artist: her loves and friendships, mourning her dead mother, and solving the mystery of Mrs. Ramsay’s sudden and suspicious death. 

Talland House was shortlisted for many prizes including: Impress, Fresher Fiction, Retreat West, and Eyelands, and longlisted by the Historical Writers Association. Talland House was also one of the Washington Independent Review of Books ‘51 Favorite Books of 2020′, and 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction (post 1900s). 2021 Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize Short List.