Caleb
Published on 4. November 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-4778-2623-2 (ISBN)
Description
"You don't want to buy me. I'll kill the man who buys me."
Despite that outrageous threat, plantation owner Boyd Jardine buys Caleb and puts him to work in the fields. But soon Jardine discovers that his new slave is both better educated and more widely traveled than himself. When Jardine's pregnant wife dies and Caleb saves the unborn child, Jardine grows increasingly dependent on him not only as a servant but also as a companion-and so their relationship as master and slave begins to change.
As the Civil War looms and Caleb's thirst for freedom grows, Jardine reluctantly agrees to let the slave buy his freedom. Caleb has no money, but Jardine comes up with a scheme: Caleb can earn the price of freedom by fighting-and winning-boxing matches. But-in an ever more turbulent political climate-even if Caleb makes enough to purchase his freedom, what then? Freedom papers don't mean much in a state of war.
Set against a conflict that threatens to split a nation, Caleb's story is both tragic and triumphant.
Revised edition: This edition of Caleb includes editorial revisions.
Despite that outrageous threat, plantation owner Boyd Jardine buys Caleb and puts him to work in the fields. But soon Jardine discovers that his new slave is both better educated and more widely traveled than himself. When Jardine's pregnant wife dies and Caleb saves the unborn child, Jardine grows increasingly dependent on him not only as a servant but also as a companion-and so their relationship as master and slave begins to change.
As the Civil War looms and Caleb's thirst for freedom grows, Jardine reluctantly agrees to let the slave buy his freedom. Caleb has no money, but Jardine comes up with a scheme: Caleb can earn the price of freedom by fighting-and winning-boxing matches. But-in an ever more turbulent political climate-even if Caleb makes enough to purchase his freedom, what then? Freedom papers don't mean much in a state of war.
Set against a conflict that threatens to split a nation, Caleb's story is both tragic and triumphant.
Revised edition: This edition of Caleb includes editorial revisions.
Reviews / Votes
"[Alverson] has added several enthralling and absolutely believable twists to a story that cannot be told often enough, not least that wisdom is common to all men. Caleb is a striking portrait of a man with visions of a better life...in a society that constrains both him and the irascible master he must always satisfy." -David Donachie, author of the John Pearce seriesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Publishing group
Amazon Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 206 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4778-2623-2 (9781477826232)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Charles Alverson was born in California and, after living in England and Wales, now lives as a confirmed expatriate in Serbia. He has been writing novels since 1971 across a range of genres: thriller, detective, young adult, humor, and popular fiction. He has also written children's books, short plays, and nonfiction, and he worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. Alverson also cowrote the screenplays for the films Jabberwocky and Brazil. Caleb is his first historical novel, but not his last.