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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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THE DEVIL'S HALF ACRE
The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South’s Most Notorious Slave Jail
A sweeping narrative of a life in the margins of the American slave trade, The Devil's Half Acre brings Mary Lumpkin into the light. This is the story of the resilience of a woman on the path to freedom, her historic contributions, and her enduring legacy.
In the wake of global protests against police brutality, America is reckoning with its tumultuous past and the legacy of the darker chapters of our history. I am pleased to share the manuscript for The Devil's Half Acre, the riveting true story of a Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who liberated herself, her children, and a notorious jail for enslaved people in the Confederacy's capital, transforming the property into one of the United States' first historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Richly told and dramatically paced, The Devil's Half Acre draws on deep research from this past to tell a unique, untold story in the tradition of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Hidden Figures, along with other books that bring to life the hidden history of Black women changing the world. Ultimately, Mary Lumpkin's story demonstrates that righting unspeakable wrongs can not only heal but can empower generations to come.
In The Devil's Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of research to tell the extraordinary and little-known story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who blazed a path of liberation for thousands. She was forced to have the children of a brutal slave trader and live on the premises of his slave jail, known as the "Devil's Half Acre." When she inherited the jail after the death of her slaveholder, she transformed it into "God's Half Acre," a school where Black men could fulfill their dreams. It still exists today as Virginia Union University, one of America's first Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Kristen Green is a reporter and the author of the New York Times bestseller Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, which received the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction and the People's Choice Award. She has worked as a writer for two decades for newspapers including the Boston Globe, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She holds a master's in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and lives with her husband and two young daughters in Richmond, Virginia.
In The Devil's Half Acre, New York Times bestselling author Kristen Green draws on years of research to tell the extraordinary and little-known story of young Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman who blazed a path of liberation for thousands. She was forced to have the children of a brutal slave trader and live on the premises of his slave jail, known as the "Devil's Half Acre." When she inherited the jail after the death of her slaveholder, she transformed it into "God's Half Acre," a school where Black men could fulfill their dreams. It still exists today as Virginia Union University, one of America's first Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Kristen Green is a reporter and the author of the New York Times bestseller Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, which received the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction and the People's Choice Award. She has worked as a writer for two decades for newspapers including the Boston Globe, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She holds a master's in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, and lives with her husband and two young daughters in Richmond, Virginia.
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Book
Published 2022-04-12 by Seal Press |