Jubilee (1966) is a historical novel written by Margaret Walker, which focuses on the story of a biracial slave during the American Civil War. It is set in Georgia and later in various parts of Alabama in the mid-19th century before, during, and after the Civil War.
Author | Margaret Walker |
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Cover artist | William Hofmann |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Historical novel |
Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | 1966 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 536 pages |
Jubilee is the semi-fictional story of Vyry Brown, based on the life of author Margaret Walker's great-grandmother, Margaret Duggans Ware Brown. Vyry Brown is a mixed-race slave—the unacknowledged daughter of her master—who is born on the Dutton plantation in Georgia. The novel follows her experiences from early childhood to adult life.
The story of Vyry's life in the novel spans three major periods of American history: Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.
The historic novel is set in parts of Georgia and Alabama, such as:
1835–1870
Before the Civil War the Bible was quoted to justify slavery as a natural and righteous state. Slaves meanwhile identified with the Old Testament Hebrew slaves who were liberated by Moses. Jubilee follows the course of the Civil War and Reconstruction, where violence by the Ku Klux Klan was unfortunately common. Specific events from this historical novel (in chronological order) include:
In 1978, Margaret Walker sued Alex Haley, claiming that his 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family had violated Jubilee's copyright by borrowing from her novel. The case was dismissed.[1]
Jubilee was adapted into a three-act opera by Ulysses Kay, to a libretto by Donald Dorr; it was commissioned by Opera/South and premiered in 1976.[2]