Anthony Burns

Book excerpt: The “unforgettable” novel from the Newbery Medal–winning author tells the true story of a runaway slave whose capture and trial set off abolitionist riots (Kirkus Reviews). Anthony Burns is a runaway slave who has just started to build a life for himself in Boston. Then his former owner comes to town to collect him. Anthony won’t go willingly, though, and people across the city step forward to make sure he’s not taken. Based on the true story of a man who stood up against the Fugitive Slave Law, Hamilton’s gripping account follows the battle in the streets and in the courts to keep Burns a citizen of Boston—a battle that is the prelude to the nation’s bloody Civil War.