The early 1800's saw the fledgling United States making giant strides towards forming a nation. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was under construction in the new capitol of Washington, Thomas Jefferson held the Presidency, Lewis and Clark were shortly to embark on their epic journey from sea to shining sea east to west across America and the United States was embroiled in its first act as an international player fighting the Barbary pirates on the Shores of Tripoli. The British outlawed slavery in 1803, the slaves of Haiti overthrew their French masters, the southern states were in the midst of a religious revival and the Indians were becoming ever more united in their fight against the white man. Add to this mix Atende. A flawed character but one highly skilled in the ways of her people. Captured in Africa and transported to America she is sold into slavery in Savannah only to escape and to provide the catalyst for the events that lead to Thomas Jefferson freeing the slaves in 1809. The book intertwines historical figures such as James Madison, John Jay, Gouverneur Morris and Toonahawi, Chief of the Yamacraw with fictional characters such as Black Fox, First Beloved Man of the Cherokee, the Stannard Sisters, Methodists who lead the cause of abolition throughout the rthern states and Emma Stannard whose awakening to the inequities of slavery underpins much of the thinking within the book. An adventure but more than that. The book is designed to make the reader reflect and think. If the book does what it sets out to accomplish it is t a book that will be forgotten quickly.
Jack Lourens is a traveler with a wide range of interests. He has published three novels: the book that makes you think, 1809; The Year They Freed the Slaves, it's sequel the political thriller set in the period after the slaves were freed, The Georgia Secession and the mini Sci-Fi classic The Annunaki where ten short-stories combine to explain everything that has happened over the last 14.2 million years