''The Known World'' is a 2003 historical novel by

Edward P. Jones Edward Paul Jones (born October 5, 1950) is an American novelist and short story writer. His 2003 novel '' The Known World'' received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the International Dublin Literary Award. Biography Edward Paul Jones was born ...

. Set in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

during the

antebellum era In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...

, it examines the issues regarding the ownership of Black

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

by both white and Black Americans. The book was published to acclaim, which praised its story and Jones's prose. In particular, his ability to intertwine stories within stories received great praise from ''The New York Times''. The

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deli ...

of ''The Known World'' is from the perspective of an omniscient figure who does not voice judgment. This allows the reader to experience the story without

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

Awards and nominations

The novel won a

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

in 2004. In 2005, it won the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, one of the richest literary awards for a novel in the English language. It was a finalist for the 2003

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

. In 2009, the website ''

The Millions ''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews. ''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary not ...

'' polled 48 critics, writers, and editors; the panel voted ''The Known World'' the second best novel since 2000. In 2015, the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

polled American critics and ranked ''The Known World'' the "second greatest novel of the 21st century so far".

References

External links

Interviews
Edward P. Jones on 'The Known World'
official HarperCollins interview.

transcript from ''

NewsHour with Jim Lehrer ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the progr ...

'', PBS, September 19, 2003
'The Known World'
audio from

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...

'', October 28, 2003 * Reviews *Page not foun
'The Known World'
review in ''

Pop Matters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fil ...

'', by Stephen M. Deusner, 5 January 2004 *Page not foun
'The Known World'
review in ''

storySouth ''storySouth'' is an online quarterly literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, essays, and visual artwork, with a focus on the Southern United States. The journal also runs the annual Million Writers Award to select the best sh ...

'', 2005 *Page not foun
'The Known World'
review in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', by

Jonathan Yardley Jonathan Yardley (born October 27, 1939) was the book critic at ''The Washington Post'' from 1981 to December 2014, and held the same post from 1978 to 1981 at the ''Washington Star''. In 1981, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Back ...

, August 24, 2003
"People who owned people"
review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', by

John Vernon John Keith Vernon (born Adolphus Raymondus Vernon Agopsowicz; February 24, 1932 February 1, 2005) was a Canadian actor. He made a career in Hollywood after achieving initial television stardom in Canada. He was best known for playing Dean Wormer ...

, August 31, 2003
"A transcendent story of slavery unfolds in black and white"
review in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', by John Freeman, October 19, 2003 Misc
Photos of the first edition of The Known World
*Two-part essay on Jones' use of a godlike omniscient narrator in "The Known World"
Part 1Part 2
2003 American novels Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning works American historical novels Novels about American slavery Novels set in Virginia Amistad Press books African-American novels Works by Edward P. Jones 2003 debut novels {{2000s-hist-novel-stub

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links