Akron Public Library

"Born a free man in New York State in 1808, Solomon Northup was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841. He spent the next twelve harrowing years of his life as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation. During this time he was frequently abused and often afraid for his life. After regaining his freedom in 1853, Northup decided to publish this gripping autobiographical account of his captivity. As an educated man, Northup was able to present an exceptionally...

An epic story of the South's fight to maintain its way of life during the Civil War years. Scarlett O'Hara and her family are amongst the ladies and gentlemen at the Twelve Oaks Plantation's ball before the Civil War begins. Scarlett's love for one man keeps her from seeing the love that another man truly has for her. As the South finally crumbles around her, Scarlett devises a way to overcome starvation in order to save herself and her family.

The moving abolitionist novel that fueled the fire of the human rights debate in 1852 and melodramatically condemned the institution of slavery through such powerfully realized characters as Tom, Eliza, Topsy, Eva, and Simon Legree. First published more than 150 years ago, this monumental work is today being reexamined by critics, scholars, and students.

Huey Valentine, his mother Miss Olivia, and Huey's great friend Abigail Thurmond live an idyllic life on Pawley's Island in South Carolina's lowcountry. Then one day, Rebecca Simms, who has been catapulted from her home, her marriage, and her children, seeks haven on the island. When Huey and Abigail help Rebecca see her day in court, they provoke a national forum for discussion.

"The story of a mulatta woman, a slave and concubine, determined to take control of her own destiny in a society where that would seem impossible"--Provided by publisher.

Written by American author and dedicated abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Uncle Toms Cabin" is a poignant novel which shows the harsh reality of a slaves life in the 1800s. Uncle Tom, an African-American slave who believes in the power of Christian faith. The book would be a major contributor to the Civil War because its compelling portrayal of slaves as fellow human beings left little room for compromise: if slaves were indeed...

From Edward P. Jones comes one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory-winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. 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....

When Caroline Wimbley Levine returned to Tall Pines Plantation, she never expected to make peace with long-buried truths about herself and her family. The Queen of Tall Pines, her late mother, was a force of nature, but now she is gone, leaving Caroline and the rest of the family uncertain of who will take her place. In the lush South Carolina countryside, old hurts, betrayals, and dark secrets will surface, and a new generation will rise along the...

Nore arrives at her stepmother's Louisiana plantation to find her new family odd and an aura of evil and mystery about the place.

When pirates overrun his paddleboat and his new bride Lierin is tossed into the dangerous river, Ashton Wingate is sure he has lost her forever. Three years later, Ashton's carriage collides with a rider, and he is certain that the unconscious beauty is his lost wife. But when the woman revives, she remembers nothing but faint memories of a dark and murderous night, and feels only trepidation in the arms of her so-called husband.