Shattered by the forces of unrest and upheaval that preceded the Civil War, the Ackerly Plantation is caught up in a frenzy of violence, cruelty, and hatred.
Here is the brutal reality of slavery--of men and women sold at auction--of young girls forced to gratify their master's lust--of slaves tortured until their only remaining instinct is to strike back . . . to kill.
And the throbbing passions that bind master to slave just as powerfully as slave to master.
Delia: Devoted young mother and wife, with no rights but those of a slave--to lose her child in a heartless accident, and to flee her husband to flee her master's lust.
Jud: Delia's husband. He dared to love her with the fullness of his being. But one of the wealthy well-bred ladies of the plantation wanted him for her personal pleasure.
And Samuel Ackerly, lord of all he surveys, wandering lonely and in pain through the slave quarters at night looking for someone to talk to . . . while Amanda, his wife, reigns in the Great House intent on overthrowing him in favor of her son, Richard. Richard, the destroyed and the destroyer, the bringer of horror.
And many more.
In this hard-hitting second volume of his epic, sweeping Shame and Glory Saga, Jerrold Mundis reveals with savage realism the depravity and degeneration of the final days of slavery in the Deep South in a shocking and unforgettable novel.
~~
Praise for the Shame & Glory novels:
"Superior . . . but not for the squeamish. The action is quick, gory and rings with verisimilitude."
- Publishers Weekly
"The dramatic actions snap along with sea battles, slave rebellions, and moral conflicts, all played out by thoroughly believable characters and building to a shattering climax."
- Library Journal
"A hard, violent antidote to the Southern Romance . . . an historical anger seldom presented before."
- Book World
OVER 4 MILLION JERROLD MUNDIS PRINT-BOOKS SOLD!
Genre: FICTION / Historical
This book became a paperback bestseller when it was first published in 1967, and sold more than 250,000 copies.
I published it on Amazon as an eBook in 2012 and it has steadily sold 80-100 copies a month without any advertising or promotion at all. (Later this year, I will be promoting it along with the four other titles that comprise The Shame & Glory Saga.)
I am just now in the process of publishing a trade paper edition on Amazon.
The book ususally ranks between 35,000 and 50,000 overall on Amazon, and steadily ranks among the top 100 in three categores, as exemplified by its current ranks below:
#32 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > African American > Historical
#39 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > African
#48 in Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > African American > Historical
JUD LAY MOTIONLESS ON the dirt floor. He stared at the high ceiling, blinking only after long intervals. He was listening to the grumbled angry mutterings and the occasional hoarse shouts, the sound of hammers driving nails into platforms as hasty repairs were made, infrequent horse whinnies and snorts, and a blacksmith’s sledge ringing against an anvil. The market was stretching, coming to life.
Jud flexed, then relaxed, then flexed again the muscles of his right arm. The arm was asleep. Around its wrist was an iron shackle that was attached by eight links of chain to the shackle circling the left wrist of the slave beside him. Jud scratched the itching skin around the edges of the iron. His partner was awake, but neither of them spoke. No one spoke. There were only a few groans, a few coughs.
Fear crouched in the strong-walled shed: muzzle twitching, tail lashing the floor. Jud could sense it. Could smell its breath.
When you get sold in Memphis, you get sold down South. And when you get sold down South . . .
Jud wondered what it would be like to be afraid. He had been once, at least he now thought that he had, and he tried to remember it. He couldn’t. He saw scenes, but the scenes evoked nothing in him save a vague and ill-defined sense of loss. His mother, Tui. Could that be right? He’d been so very small when he was sold away from her to Tiligman. The name sounded strange to his ears, Tui, but it was what had stayed with him. He remembered that she wore a bright yellow turban. And that she was very black, like darkness when the moon is behind clouds. He had never seen his father, and his father had never seen him. His mother had told him his father had been a warrior and a leader of men. They’d been stolen away, she said, from a place where there were no white men or slaves. That was hard to believe. His mother and father had been lost to each other. Jud did not know if any of it was true.
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French
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Tatiana Oumbé
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Carolina Mutti
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Author review: Carolina was responsive and responsible, and while perhaps being a bit more liberal in her translation than I might have liked (but I can't be certain about that), and having a small misunderstanding of text in a spot or two, was careful with the text and respectful of it. She queried me about a couple of idioms, which made for a better translation, and completed everything on time. In all, a good experience. |
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Portuguese
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Claudia Piersanti
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Natalia Prieto Masanta
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Author review: An excellent and sensitive translation. Natalia raised intelligent and perceptive questions when appropriate, and offered well-reasoned solutions to the few problems language and cultural differences presented. She was timely in her own work, patient when I was delayed myself, and easy to communicate with. I recommend her without reservation. |
