Reading Black Life in Eighteenth-Century Canada and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Abstract
Sherry R. Johnson's Reading Black Life in Eighteenth-Century Canada and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes gives readers a greater understanding of Black geographies in North America, pushing beyond historical narratives that ignore the Canada-US border. Troubling the myth of eighteenth-century Canada as a site of unencumbered black life that endures today both in historical and fictional accounts, Lawrence Hill provides a more complete image of the transatlantic slave trade in The Book of Negroes. His novel reveals how the route continues after the ships leave ports on the East Coast of the United States to Canada. Johnson, analyzing Hill's narrative alongside use of visual and interactive aids such as maps and timelines, highlights the movement of free, indentured, and enslaved people and their experiences in Canada. Consequently, the author demonstrates how literature rounds out the story of black movement, migration, and travel between Canada and the United States.
Original Citation
Johnson, S. R. (2026). Reading Black Life in Eighteenth-Century Canada and Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes. In Publishing Without Walls. Publishing Without Walls. https://doi.org/10.21900/pww.34
ScholarWorks Citation
Johnson, Sherry, "Reading Black Life in Eighteenth-Century Canada and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes" (2026). Books and Book Chapters. 2.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/eng_chapters/2
Comments
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