Jonathan M. Bryant
Dark Places of the Earth: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Antelope.
W. W. Norton - A Liveright Book
ISBN 978-0-87140-675-0Type your paragraph here.
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Dark Places of the Earth plunges us into a world where slavery was normal, and where slaves had no rights as human beings. The arrival of the slave ship Antelope in 1820, bearing hundreds of African captives, surprisingly challenged those assumptions. The stubborn struggle of advocates for the captives ultimately forced the Supreme Court to decide whether human rights or property rights were paramount in American Law.
“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
"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
“Dark Places of the Earth is a meticulously researched scholarly history that packs an emotional punch. . . . Jonathan M. Bryant relates the story behind a complicated and momentous case before the US Supreme Court, filling it with human interest and suspense. His sensitive characterizations of the actors in his narrative—pirates, lawyers, politicians, judges, and slaves--are worthy of a novel.”
--Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer-prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848
Read the Wall Street Journal Review of Dark Places of the Earth
Read the Boston Globe's Review
The Philadelphia Tribune's Review
The Washington Independent Review of Books
A Booklist Starred Review.
Listen to Dr. Bryant's Interview on NPR's Diane Rehm Show.
Dr. Bryant's Interview with Celeste Headly on Georgia Public Broadcasting's On Second Thought
Watch Dr. Bryant's interview with Roland Martin on News One TV.
Watch an Interview about the Antelope with Jonathan M. Bryant from
SGTV Chanel 8, Savannah. Slaves of the City - Bryant Interview
Watch an Interview on PBS - Courtmaker: John Marshall and the Forging of America's Supreme Court. Edited version here.
Watch C-SPAN History Panel Discussions
Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History Finalist!