The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative

“This is quite a detective story—the discovery of an unpublished 19th-century manuscript, and then the historical excavation work to identify its author by more than her pen name. Furman University professor Hecimovich worked with the tools of a gumshoe, the sensibilities of a literary scholar, the nuanced perspective of a historian, and the congeniality of a tour guide as he shared with readers his search through public records, handwritten diaries and almanacs, wills, and slave inventories. He finally revealed the writer to be Hannah Bond, who had learned to read and write as an enslaved house servant in North Carolina before escaping to the North.” Read more...

The Best Biographies of 2024: The National Book Critics Circle Shortlist

Elizabeth Taylor, Biographer