The Blackbirds of St. Giles

Summary

This sweeping and immersive debut reveals the heart of a previously unseen world—the Black community of Georgian London—in a page-turning 18th century adventure 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 family—and 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 Britain’s king to former slaves who fought for the Crown in America’s War of Independence. For saving a Major’s life in battle, Daniel is doubly rewarded with the man’s inheritance, to be claimed on the other side of the ocean.

But a king’s 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 London’s 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 outcasts—the 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 …

“The Blackbirds of St. Giles is a riveting story of love, betrayal, revenge, and triumph. The well-developed characters are absolutely unforgettable. The plot twists are so intriguing I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. This is one of the few books I plan to read again.”—Mary Monroe, New York Times bestselling author