Description
From the brutal horrors of Jamaican plantations to the teeming streets of 19th century London, through lavish manor houses and across dangerous seas, escaped enslaved siblings survive the American War of Independence and arrive in London to seek their fortune in this page-turning, immersive story of survival, betrayal, secrets, and the quest for true freedom.
On a terrifying night in 1768, Daniel and his young sister, Pearl, narrowly escape their brutal life of slavery when a Jamaican sugarcane plantation is torched in a violent uprising. In the ashes, Daniel leaves behind the rest of his familyand one powerful love.
More than a decade later in New York City, Daniel anticipates sailing with Pearl, now 15, to a new life promised by Britains king to former slaves who fought for the Crown in Americas War of Independence. For saving a Majors life in battle, Daniel is doubly rewarded with the mans inheritance, to be claimed on the other side of the ocean.
But a kings promises can be forgotten, and fortunes snatched away by the cruel prejudices of strangers in a new land . . .
Hopeless and homeless, Daniel and Pearl are lured into a dank maze of passageways roiling beneath Londons teeming streets, under the famed Covent Garden, and far below the crypts of St. Giles church. A world of unimaginable poverty, where the desperate live as outcaststhe blackbirds of St. Giles.
Reigning over the scene is Elias, a ruthless, violent boss who sells protection for a price. To shield Pearl, Daniel must literally fight for their survival, stepping into the ring with a monstrous opponent.
Dazzling and poignant, The Blackbirds of St. Giles propels us into an extraordinary, too long overlooked community and period in history, when the threat of servitude is ever-present, and some ghosts of the past can never be escaped . . .
Author: Lila Cain
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Dafina Books
Published: 05/27/2025
Pages: 480
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9781496755629
Language: English
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