Book of Negroes

Lawrence Hill was born in Ontario, Canada of a black father and a white mother. He is the author of a memoir, Black Berry, Sweet Juice, a work of non-fiction, The Deserter's Tale, and two other novels. His third novel, The Book of Negroes (published in the US as Somebody Knows My Name) was a no.1 bestseller in Canada, and won the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book.

"Hill's novel is a beautiful, compelling artifice, spun from unspeakably savage facts... a fiction that faces the terrible truth about slavery" The Times "A colossal achievement... heartrending yet inspiring" Independent on Sunday "The ebb and flow of Aminata's fortunes is gripping stuff, with the horrors inflicted upon her and her people brought to life almost matter-of-factly - and all the more enraging for that" Daily Mail "Richly meticulous recreation of late 18th century slave life... in its grand historical sweep, The Book of Negroes succeeds admirably in giving voice to a captive people who were for so long kept mute" -- Stephen Amidon The Sunday Times "Wears its thorough research lightly... fitting that this ambitious revision of slave narratives should have won the overall Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the year that the American electorate demolished one of its most persistent categories of exclusion" Independent