Description
Book SynopsisLos Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in History
A dramatic work of historical detection illuminating one of the most significant—and long forgotten—Supreme Court cases in American history.
Trade Review"In Bryant’s gripping telling, the moral contradictions of the time are laid bare…. Carefully researched, beautifully crafted,
Dark Places—the title comes, ominously but evocatively, from Joseph Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness—is one of the very few books that delivers on the promiscuous promise to employ an obscure episode to offer new insights on a well-trod byway of history." -- David M. Shribman - Boston Globe
"Illuminating…. Fascinating…." -- David Reynolds - Wall Street Journal
"Bryant masterfully narrates the incredible machinations revolving around the eventual case, which would drag on for seven years, and take a considerable toll on the captives awaiting a decision…. Epic in scope, providing rich portraits of life at sea and trade in the Atlantic world, slavery and its hazards in the malaria-ridden South, and the tension between the ethical and financial interests of a slew of chummy Southern gentlemen adjudicating the case,
Dark Places of the Earth is an invaluable contribution to the understanding of antebellum America." -- Bobbi Booker - Philadelphia Tribune
"An eye-opening account of a little-known (yet horrifying) episode in American history…. In
Dark Places of the Earth, Bryant has salvaged the history of an era when black lives mattered to slavers only as profit and the dead were thrown to the sharks." -- Adam Rothman - Washington Independent Review of Books
"From its poetic title to its concluding sentence,
Dark Places of the Earth spins a riveting yarn, using the vexed voyage of the slave ship
Antelope to illuminate a profound moment in American history. Vividly drawn characters and courtroom drama make this narrative history of a high order." -- Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion
"In this fascinating and engagingly written study, Jonathan M. Bryant illuminates a largely forgotten—but highly significant—episode in American legal history. Based on prodigious and meticulous research,
Dark Places of the Earth will appeal to general readers and scholars alike. An important, original book." -- Douglas R. Egerton, author of The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era
"Jonathan Bryant sheds new and revealing light on a dark chapter in the history of American slavery, and on a Supreme Court decision that, despite its faults, deserves to be better known." -- Brian McGinty, author of Lincoln's Greatest Case
"Bryant presents a broadened picture of the transatlantic slave trade while illuminating a legal battle with huge moral implications." -- Barbara Hoffert - Library Journal
"A richly documented work that restores the
Antelope to its central place in the long, grim history of the Atlantic slave trade." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Detailed and fascinating account…. This is a superb examination of an obscure but important episode in the struggle against slavery." -- Jay Freeman - Booklist, Starred review
"[Bryant] meticulously unwinds the years-long, complex legal history that finally led to the case being heard by the six justices of John Marshall's Supreme Court, four of whom were slave owners…. From the West African shores to Georgia, Washington, D.C., and, finally Liberia, Bryant's riveting history of this case and these slaves is a remarkable one." -- Tom Lavoie - Shelf Awareness
