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Slavery and Beyond: The Complete Series Collection
A. Robert Allen’s eye-opening Slavery and Beyond Series---Passionate heroes, no-holds-barred historical fiction, and high-stakes emotional tension. ˃˃˃ Failed Moments, Volume #1
Patrick Walsh relives his Failed Moments in two past lives in order to salvage his modern day existence. He travels back to the French Caribbean in 1790 (before the slave revolution that created Haiti) and NYC in 1863 during the Draft Riots. Will he succeed the second time around?
˃˃˃ A Wave From Mama, Volume #21863 Weeksville, Brooklyn: A former slave gets his dream job working on the Bridge project, but becomes a pawn in a battle involving the gangs of Irishtown and the corrupt Metropolitan Police. Will his special physical abilities help him survive or will his awkward social deficits prove to be too much to overcome?
˃˃˃ Minetta Lane, Volume #3New York City, 1904- Bodee Rivers, who has always run from major challenges, moves to crime ridden MINETTA LANE, which is governed by an unusual race-based code. When confronted with an unimaginable challenge, he isn’t sure he’s up to the task. Stand and fight or cut and run?
˃˃˃ Living in the Middle, Volume #4New York/Tulsa Early 1900s: Wealthy, White, and privileged Jimmy Montgomery discovers he’s been living a lie and travels to Tulsa to uncover his roots. When trouble pits Whites against the Black community of Greenwood, Jimmy realizes he can no longer Live in the Middle. This novel is a stand-alone story of historical fiction.
937 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2019
7 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
A. Robert Allen
9 books86 followersA. Robert Allen has published four volumes and two prequels in his Slavery and Beyond series. All are stand-alone novels connected by theme. He writes historical fiction that transports readers to times and places immediately before or soon after the end of slavery. A. Robert is a long-time higher education professional and resides in New York. The first volume in the series, Failed Moments, is a fictional account of Allen’s ancestors in 1790 during the slave revolution in what would become Haiti and later in 1863 during New York’s Draft Riots. The second volume, A Wave From Mama, immerses readers in racially charged post Civil War Brooklyn and gives an interesting look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. The third book in the series, Minetta Lane, takes place in 1904 in a downtown New York neighborhood that lives by an unusual race-based code. The prequel to this third volume, Minetta Mornings, takes place twenty-five years earlier. His most recent release, Living in the Middle, transports readers to perhaps the most violent and significant incident of racial violence in U.S. history, the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921. The prequel to this novel, which takes place in 1896, is entitled Ticket to Tulsa. Find out more about the author and his works at his website: http://arobertallen.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2023
The stories found in this collection are meticulously researched and follow time and place exactly, giving us a clear, clean look at the history that was base-line to our communities today. If I could give Slavery and Beyond a 10 stars rating, I would.
A Wave From Mama - I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from A. Robert Allen through Goodreads. Thank you, Tony, for sharing your hard work with me.
And this is an excellent novel, taking place in Brooklyn and the neighboring black community of Weeksville from 1863 through the completion of the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge in May of 1886. We follow several families through these times, but they all connect in their relationships with Venture Simmons, the son of an escaped slave. Vent's mom died of her injuries in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Weeksville following their escape from the Irish vs. Blacks in the Draft Riots in New York, where she was raped and stabbed by unknown men also fleeing New York. Twelve-year-old Vent, very small of frame, quite agile and fearless of heights, witnessed the assault on his Mom from a neighboring roof, and at her death swore to avenge her. Young Vent is absorbed into the community of Weeksville despite his lack of social graces, and his adopted family help him learn to control his anger and channel his angst into his work. Watching him grow up, accept the responsibilities and perks of adulthood, and thrive on the high reaches of the bridge is an excellent way to spend a lazy Sunday.
The unexpected perk of this novel is in the closing chapters, where A. Robert Allen gives us the actual facts and characters this novel is drawn from, and sources to follow up on this grand tale. And this is a stand-alone novel, but volume 2 of a series - Slavery and Beyond.
And Minetta Lane - I highly recommend this tale to those who enjoy historical novels, the Eastern seaboard in the later 19th century, and the reality of Northern black communities following the Civil War. Minetta Lane is an excellent example of the novel as a portal into history. A. Robert Allen does a wonderful job of bringing back to us the life, manners, and mores of a vital neighborhood in New York City, where Minetta Lane met Minetta Street. In the spring of 1904, black was white and white was black in the Minetta's. There were entrenched procedures and rules which every visitor to the Bend was subject to, whether knowingly or not, and Bodee Rivers, a very untried young black man, had as much of a problem with living with/enforcing those rules as anyone else ever did.
This is an exceptional novel. How can the grandson of a slave affect and change the profile of a community? A grandson without the fire in his belly of his people still touching the lifeline of slavery? How can he find rewarding work and a loving relationship and contribute to the growth of his neighborhood and community without that ability to focus totally on achieving equal recognition?
Bodee Rivers finds a way to straddle that line and bring his simple sense of humanity to bear on his neighborhood and his city. The burning June 15, 1905, of the excursion boat General Slocum was the most deadly river disaster in the history of the US. Of the thirteen hundred passengers aboard one thousand and thirty died in the blaze. Bodee Rivers rescued many of those survivors. It turns out bravery and the recognition of shared humanity doesn't really have a color.
Minetta Lane is the third in a series, each stand-alone, called Slavery and Beyond. All are exceptional. Failed Moments and A Wave From Mama are novels we can all enjoy and bring away a link to understanding one another.
Living in the Middle is the 4th volume of the Slavery and Beyond Series, but as are they all, completely stand alone. We begin exploring the life of James Montgomery III as he returns to NYC in 1915 from boarding school prior to beginning college at Columbia, only to see his father die and his mother expels him from her life, telling him that he is not her child and he is disowned. His father arranged for his college to be paid for, but when that is over he is never to darken her door again. Oh, and his real mother is a black woman named Glory Turner who lives in Oklahoma. Now Jimmy must decide which world he would like to live in for the rest of his life. The white world is the only one he knows. He will finish his education and learn all he can about the black world.
Across the tracks from Tulsa is the black community known as Greenwood, the Black Wall Street. Blacks who settled there have prospered, keeping to themselves and supporting one another, following the teachings of Booker T. Washington. In the summer of 1919, Jimmy Montgomery takes his college degree and opens shop as a CPA in Greenwood, sending to New York for his friend Milton to join him when the business can support them both. Though he is not lucky in love Jimmy is definitely comfortable living black and enjoying time with his Mom and his friends, watching his community and his business grow.
Over time, Tulsa's KKK influence grows and there is resentment building in Tulsa against the black communities prosperity. The young people in Greenwood are more inclined to follow the teachings of W. E.B. Dubois and the newly formed NAACP. By May of 1921 tempers are flaring on both sides, and the press and KKK are playing both sides against the middle, with war exploding on July 7, 1921.
Based on fact, this novel brings to light both the success and the destruction of Greenwood, Oklahoma. It is a lesson for us all to learn. I am pleased to recommend this novel to friends and family.
I received an electronic ARC of this historical novel from A. Robert Allen. I enjoy his books and read and reviewed this one strictly because I wanted to.
A Wave From Mama - I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from A. Robert Allen through Goodreads. Thank you, Tony, for sharing your hard work with me.
And this is an excellent novel, taking place in Brooklyn and the neighboring black community of Weeksville from 1863 through the completion of the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge in May of 1886. We follow several families through these times, but they all connect in their relationships with Venture Simmons, the son of an escaped slave. Vent's mom died of her injuries in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Weeksville following their escape from the Irish vs. Blacks in the Draft Riots in New York, where she was raped and stabbed by unknown men also fleeing New York. Twelve-year-old Vent, very small of frame, quite agile and fearless of heights, witnessed the assault on his Mom from a neighboring roof, and at her death swore to avenge her. Young Vent is absorbed into the community of Weeksville despite his lack of social graces, and his adopted family help him learn to control his anger and channel his angst into his work. Watching him grow up, accept the responsibilities and perks of adulthood, and thrive on the high reaches of the bridge is an excellent way to spend a lazy Sunday.
The unexpected perk of this novel is in the closing chapters, where A. Robert Allen gives us the actual facts and characters this novel is drawn from, and sources to follow up on this grand tale. And this is a stand-alone novel, but volume 2 of a series - Slavery and Beyond.
And Minetta Lane - I highly recommend this tale to those who enjoy historical novels, the Eastern seaboard in the later 19th century, and the reality of Northern black communities following the Civil War. Minetta Lane is an excellent example of the novel as a portal into history. A. Robert Allen does a wonderful job of bringing back to us the life, manners, and mores of a vital neighborhood in New York City, where Minetta Lane met Minetta Street. In the spring of 1904, black was white and white was black in the Minetta's. There were entrenched procedures and rules which every visitor to the Bend was subject to, whether knowingly or not, and Bodee Rivers, a very untried young black man, had as much of a problem with living with/enforcing those rules as anyone else ever did.
This is an exceptional novel. How can the grandson of a slave affect and change the profile of a community? A grandson without the fire in his belly of his people still touching the lifeline of slavery? How can he find rewarding work and a loving relationship and contribute to the growth of his neighborhood and community without that ability to focus totally on achieving equal recognition?
Bodee Rivers finds a way to straddle that line and bring his simple sense of humanity to bear on his neighborhood and his city. The burning June 15, 1905, of the excursion boat General Slocum was the most deadly river disaster in the history of the US. Of the thirteen hundred passengers aboard one thousand and thirty died in the blaze. Bodee Rivers rescued many of those survivors. It turns out bravery and the recognition of shared humanity doesn't really have a color.
Minetta Lane is the third in a series, each stand-alone, called Slavery and Beyond. All are exceptional. Failed Moments and A Wave From Mama are novels we can all enjoy and bring away a link to understanding one another.
Living in the Middle is the 4th volume of the Slavery and Beyond Series, but as are they all, completely stand alone. We begin exploring the life of James Montgomery III as he returns to NYC in 1915 from boarding school prior to beginning college at Columbia, only to see his father die and his mother expels him from her life, telling him that he is not her child and he is disowned. His father arranged for his college to be paid for, but when that is over he is never to darken her door again. Oh, and his real mother is a black woman named Glory Turner who lives in Oklahoma. Now Jimmy must decide which world he would like to live in for the rest of his life. The white world is the only one he knows. He will finish his education and learn all he can about the black world.
Across the tracks from Tulsa is the black community known as Greenwood, the Black Wall Street. Blacks who settled there have prospered, keeping to themselves and supporting one another, following the teachings of Booker T. Washington. In the summer of 1919, Jimmy Montgomery takes his college degree and opens shop as a CPA in Greenwood, sending to New York for his friend Milton to join him when the business can support them both. Though he is not lucky in love Jimmy is definitely comfortable living black and enjoying time with his Mom and his friends, watching his community and his business grow.
Over time, Tulsa's KKK influence grows and there is resentment building in Tulsa against the black communities prosperity. The young people in Greenwood are more inclined to follow the teachings of W. E.B. Dubois and the newly formed NAACP. By May of 1921 tempers are flaring on both sides, and the press and KKK are playing both sides against the middle, with war exploding on July 7, 1921.
Based on fact, this novel brings to light both the success and the destruction of Greenwood, Oklahoma. It is a lesson for us all to learn. I am pleased to recommend this novel to friends and family.
I received an electronic ARC of this historical novel from A. Robert Allen. I enjoy his books and read and reviewed this one strictly because I wanted to.
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November 9, 2019A most valuable contribution – a must read!
New York City author Anthony Robert Allen now offers his four book series SLAVERY AND BEYOND as a bundle. He made his literary debut with an exceptionally fine novel – FAILED MOMENTS, Book 1 of the SLAVERY AND BEYOND series - based on the `what if’ concept - having the possibility to correct wrongs or change life by going back in time and doing things differently. The collected stories are solid, the writing excellent (Allen is a college administrator!) and the novels are labeled `historical fiction'. Having read and enjoyed his books, this reviewer looked for more information about the genesis of this series: `My goal was to present a family history book to my immediate family as a present for Christmas in 2013. I hired genealogists in the U.S., Ireland, and the Caribbean. As the story started to come together, I uncovered some interesting things in terms of ethnicity and religion. My Irish ancestry can be traced back to the late 1700s in Ireland. Each of my Irish family lines stayed throughout the Great Famine in the 1840s, but then left for the United States over the next 20-30 years. Some of my ancestors went to Chicago, which had a tremendous Irish population, and they were in the city during the Great Chicago fire of 1871. Others went to New York around the time of the Draft Riots in 1863, which pitted the Irish against the blacks. My Irish line has been consistently Catholic over the years. While the Irish side didn't offer so many surprises, my “other side” did. I have one line of Sephardic Jews that I can trace back to Portugal in the 1500s. This branch of the family owned slaves in St. Domingue (modern-day Haiti) just before the slave revolution, eventually intermarried with a mulatto line of former slaves, and became Anglican from that point forward. I have another branch of my family tree that I can trace back to the marriage of a white planter to a free woman of color on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean in the early 1800s. This line was also Protestant. Life, of course, is so much more than ethnicity and religion, and the stories I uncovered--which are very well-documented --are much more sensational than ordinary. My family has been both poor and wealthy and no stranger to scandal. Some of the more colorful characters include disbarred lawyers, promiscuous husbands, bootleggers, numbers runners, scammers, politicians, and athletes.'
Given that exhaustive research and discovery of the complexities of time and change and mutations of thought and lines to which we all are inherent, Allen has created a condensation of all this excellent series. Reading the four books of this series SLAVERY AND BEYOND is the privilege to reminisce about our own ancestry and despite all the current banter about immigration reform; we in America are all immigrants. Allen takes us through that discovery and in doing so has provided a very series. Highly Recommended.
New York City author Anthony Robert Allen now offers his four book series SLAVERY AND BEYOND as a bundle. He made his literary debut with an exceptionally fine novel – FAILED MOMENTS, Book 1 of the SLAVERY AND BEYOND series - based on the `what if’ concept - having the possibility to correct wrongs or change life by going back in time and doing things differently. The collected stories are solid, the writing excellent (Allen is a college administrator!) and the novels are labeled `historical fiction'. Having read and enjoyed his books, this reviewer looked for more information about the genesis of this series: `My goal was to present a family history book to my immediate family as a present for Christmas in 2013. I hired genealogists in the U.S., Ireland, and the Caribbean. As the story started to come together, I uncovered some interesting things in terms of ethnicity and religion. My Irish ancestry can be traced back to the late 1700s in Ireland. Each of my Irish family lines stayed throughout the Great Famine in the 1840s, but then left for the United States over the next 20-30 years. Some of my ancestors went to Chicago, which had a tremendous Irish population, and they were in the city during the Great Chicago fire of 1871. Others went to New York around the time of the Draft Riots in 1863, which pitted the Irish against the blacks. My Irish line has been consistently Catholic over the years. While the Irish side didn't offer so many surprises, my “other side” did. I have one line of Sephardic Jews that I can trace back to Portugal in the 1500s. This branch of the family owned slaves in St. Domingue (modern-day Haiti) just before the slave revolution, eventually intermarried with a mulatto line of former slaves, and became Anglican from that point forward. I have another branch of my family tree that I can trace back to the marriage of a white planter to a free woman of color on the island of Nevis in the Caribbean in the early 1800s. This line was also Protestant. Life, of course, is so much more than ethnicity and religion, and the stories I uncovered--which are very well-documented --are much more sensational than ordinary. My family has been both poor and wealthy and no stranger to scandal. Some of the more colorful characters include disbarred lawyers, promiscuous husbands, bootleggers, numbers runners, scammers, politicians, and athletes.'
Given that exhaustive research and discovery of the complexities of time and change and mutations of thought and lines to which we all are inherent, Allen has created a condensation of all this excellent series. Reading the four books of this series SLAVERY AND BEYOND is the privilege to reminisce about our own ancestry and despite all the current banter about immigration reform; we in America are all immigrants. Allen takes us through that discovery and in doing so has provided a very series. Highly Recommended.
November 11, 2019
What can you say about an author who takes a snapshot in history and transforms it into an informative, captivating novel? A. Robert Allen is that author. His Slavery and Beyond Series includes four independently written, historical fiction novels ranging in time from the late 1700’s to the early 20th century.
“Failed Moments is a powerful, moving story about life and the choices we make with a plot centered around reincarnation and karma. The characters weave a web and capture the reader from the first chapter incorporating ethnicity, religion, and social class. Their relationships and personal differences cause them to face challenges in their prior life that ultimately effects the outcome of their present life. The author does a great job linking historic information to a spiritual supernatural setting.
“A Wave from Mama” is mixture of historical detail and contrasting relationships between the characters. Vent and Moses set the stage for a thickening plot dealing with the temptations of revenge versus the struggle to forgive in order to move forward. The historical facts range from the black population in New York to the gangs of Brooklyn with a little bit of politics sprinkled in for good measure. It also provides interesting details about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge which linked New York and Brooklyn during a time when they were only connected by a ferry system.
The setting for “Minetta Lane” takes place in 1904 in a dangerous area of New York City nicknamed The Bend. The Bend has an unusual race-based code where black residents are accepted, whites are rejected and Irish gangsters are respected. Bodee Rivers, Juba and Blood are the main characters who confront the racial differences in the Bend through their own personal connection and bond. Bodee is an interesting character who struggles with an internal power that tests his strength and endurance to do the right thing while struggling to be accepted by the whites in other neighborhoods.
The heart of “Living in the Middle” centers on biracial identity issues and racial differences. Jimmy Montgomery is the main character in the story and he strikes every emotional chord from the first chapter to the last. He struggles with identifying to whites versus blacks based on the color of his skin while questioning where he truly belongs. Lies from Jimmy’s past cause him to confront various situations in an attempt to be accepted in society rather than rejected.
A. Robert Allen writes a powerful novel blending both fictional and non-fictional characters in the story with many untold historical facts from the past. The seamless transition between fact and fiction speaks to the author’s writing style and talent to craft a well-developed historical fiction novel leaving the reader pondering over the outcome way beyond the end. He is an author I will continue to keep on my radar for future great works. This series is a “must read”.
“Failed Moments is a powerful, moving story about life and the choices we make with a plot centered around reincarnation and karma. The characters weave a web and capture the reader from the first chapter incorporating ethnicity, religion, and social class. Their relationships and personal differences cause them to face challenges in their prior life that ultimately effects the outcome of their present life. The author does a great job linking historic information to a spiritual supernatural setting.
“A Wave from Mama” is mixture of historical detail and contrasting relationships between the characters. Vent and Moses set the stage for a thickening plot dealing with the temptations of revenge versus the struggle to forgive in order to move forward. The historical facts range from the black population in New York to the gangs of Brooklyn with a little bit of politics sprinkled in for good measure. It also provides interesting details about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge which linked New York and Brooklyn during a time when they were only connected by a ferry system.
The setting for “Minetta Lane” takes place in 1904 in a dangerous area of New York City nicknamed The Bend. The Bend has an unusual race-based code where black residents are accepted, whites are rejected and Irish gangsters are respected. Bodee Rivers, Juba and Blood are the main characters who confront the racial differences in the Bend through their own personal connection and bond. Bodee is an interesting character who struggles with an internal power that tests his strength and endurance to do the right thing while struggling to be accepted by the whites in other neighborhoods.
The heart of “Living in the Middle” centers on biracial identity issues and racial differences. Jimmy Montgomery is the main character in the story and he strikes every emotional chord from the first chapter to the last. He struggles with identifying to whites versus blacks based on the color of his skin while questioning where he truly belongs. Lies from Jimmy’s past cause him to confront various situations in an attempt to be accepted in society rather than rejected.
A. Robert Allen writes a powerful novel blending both fictional and non-fictional characters in the story with many untold historical facts from the past. The seamless transition between fact and fiction speaks to the author’s writing style and talent to craft a well-developed historical fiction novel leaving the reader pondering over the outcome way beyond the end. He is an author I will continue to keep on my radar for future great works. This series is a “must read”.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews