David

by David Robinson

Born a slave in 1847, but raised as a free man by the Reverend William King, David has rebelled against his emancipator and his predestined future in the church. He’s taken up residence in the nearby town of Chatham, made a living robbing graves, and now presides—in the company of a German ex-prostitute named Loretta—over an illegal after-hours tavern.

These days that final, violent confrontation with Reverend King seems like a lifetime ago. The residents of Chatham know David as a God-cursing, liquor-slinging, money-having man-about-town, famously educated and fabulously eccentric. And he seems to be more-or-less happy … that is, until the death of Reverend King brings his past crashing down upon him.

Inspired by the Elgin Settlement, which by 1852 housed 75 free black families and was studied by Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe, David is a fiery look at one man’s quest for knowledge and forgiveness, and a moving portrait of life after the Underground Railroad.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Lorine Kritzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book with a strong and complex main character. And there are so many interesting issues: slavery, the anti-slavery movement, what it meant to be a freed slave, a black/white relationship at a time when it was an act of bravery, just to name a few. In addition, as someone pointed out, the reader learns so much about Walt Whitman, William Blake, and the raid on Harper's Ferry. The choices David had to make are a discussion in themselves.