
The Good Lord Bird
New York, New York : Riverhead Books, 2020.
Format: Book
Edition: Riverhead trade paperback Showtime tie-in edition.
Description: 458 pages ; 21 cm
Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856 - a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces - when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town - along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl and his good-luck charm. Over the ensuing months, Henry, whom Brown nicknames Little Onion, conceals his true identity to stay alive. Eventualy Brown sweeps him into the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 - one of the great catalysts for the Civil War. An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBride's bmeticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.
Contents:
Part one. Free Deeds (Kansas). Meet the Lord -- Good lord bird -- Old man's army -- Massacre -- Nigger Bob -- Prisoner again -- Black Jack -- Bad omen -- Sign from God.
Part two. Slave Deeds (Missouri). Real gunslinger -- Pie -- Sibonia -- Insurrection -- Terrible discovery -- Squeezed -- Busting out.
Part three. Legend (Virginia). Rolling into history -- Meeting a great man -- Smelling like bear -- Rousing the hive -- Plan -- Spy -- Word -- Rail man -- Annie -- Things heaven sent -- Escape -- Attack -- Bowl of confusion -- Un-hiving the bees -- Last stand -- Getting gone.
Part two. Slave Deeds (Missouri). Real gunslinger -- Pie -- Sibonia -- Insurrection -- Terrible discovery -- Squeezed -- Busting out.
Part three. Legend (Virginia). Rolling into history -- Meeting a great man -- Smelling like bear -- Rousing the hive -- Plan -- Spy -- Word -- Rail man -- Annie -- Things heaven sent -- Escape -- Attack -- Bowl of confusion -- Un-hiving the bees -- Last stand -- Getting gone.
Subjects:
Brown, John, 1800-1859 -- Fiction.
Fugitive slaves -- United States -- Fiction.
Abolitionists -- Fiction.
Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History -- John Brown's Raid, 1859 -- Fiction.
John Brown's Raid (Harpers Ferry, West Virginia : 1859)
Brown, John, 1800-1859 -- Fiction.
Fugitive slaves -- United States -- Fiction.
Abolitionists -- Fiction.
Harpers Ferry (W. Va.) -- History -- John Brown's Raid, 1859 -- Fiction.
John Brown's Raid (Harpers Ferry, West Virginia : 1859)
ISBN:
9780593191965
More Formats
National Book Award for Fiction, 2013.