Harriet Hemings, rumored to be the daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, one of his black slaves, struggles with the problems facing her: to escape fr

ONE OF TIME'S 10 BEST FICTION BOOKS OF 2020. Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, the New Yo

“A novel that vividly examines the struggle of enslaved people to find their freedom, dignity and self-worth as our country struggled.” —Michael Glaser, f

“In this engaging work, Van Atta . . . provides an in-depth analysis of the 1820 Missouri Compromise, a seminal event on the road to the Civil War.” —Choi

This analysis of Jefferson's antislavery views and the actions to which they gave rise, the subject matter of The Wolf by the Ears, is necessarily episodic; whi