Diane McKinney-Whetstone

Lazaretto (eBook, ePUB)

A Novel

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

This stunning new novel from Diane McKinney-Whetstone, nationally bestselling author of Tumbling, begins in the chaotic backstreets of postCivil War Philadelphia as a young black woman gives birth to a child fathered by her wealthy white employer.

In a city riven by racial tension, the father's transgression is unforgivable. He has already arranged to take the baby, so it falls to Sylvia, the midwife's teenage apprentice, to tell Meda that her child is deada lie that will define the course of both women's lives. A devastated Meda dedicates herself to working in an orphanage and becomes a surrogate mother to two white boys; while Sylvia, fueled by her guilt, throws herself into her nursing studies and finds a post at the Lazaretto, the country's first quarantine hospital, situated near the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia.

The Lazaretto is a crucible of life and death; sick passengers and corpses are quarantined here, but this is also the place where immigrants take their first steps toward the American dream. The live-in staff are mostly black Philadelphians, and when two of them arrange to marry, the city's black community prepares for a party on its grounds. But the celebration is plunged into chaos when gunshots ring out across the river.

As Sylvia races to save the victim, the fates of Meda's beloved orphans also converge on the Lazaretto. Long ago, one brother committed an unthinkable act to protect the other, sparking a chain of events that now puts the Lazaretto on lockdown. Here conflicts escalate, lies collapse, and secrets begin to surface; like dead men rising, past sins cannot be contained.

Advance Praise For Lazaretto

Vibrant. . . . Completely engaging. . . . A unique blend of poetic language and graphic depictions of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the postCivil War period.Booklist (starred review)

Praise for Diane McKinney-Whetstone's Previous novels

Even the air is palpable in Tumbling. . . . The story moves forward on the power of Ms. McKinney-Whetstone's characters. . . .

McKinney-Whetstone captures the formidable struggle to protect both a community and a family.New York Times on Tumbling

McKinney-Whetstone's gifts as a writer continue to fascinate.San Francisco Chronicle on Tempest Rising

McKinney-Whetstone ought to be classified among the best of all contemporary fiction writers, period.Detroit Free Press on Blues Dancing

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: HarperCollins
• Seitenzahl: 368
• Erscheinungstermin: 12. April 2016
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780062126986
• Artikelnr.: 43968764

Autorenporträt

The author of the critically acclaimed novels Tumbling, Tempest Rising, Blues Dancing, Leaving Cecil Street, and Trading Dreams at Midnight, Diane McKinney-Whetstone is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Literary Award for Fiction, which she won twice. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband. For more on Diane McKinney-Whetstone please visit www.mckinney-whetstone.com or follow her on Twitter @Dianemckwh.