<p>The author of <em>City of Refuge</em> returns with a startling and powerful novel of race, violence, and identity set on the eve of the Civil War.</p><p>The year is 1855. Blackface minstrelsy is the most popular form of entertainment in a nation about to be torn apart by the battle over slavery. Henry Sims, a fugitive slave and a brilliant musician, has escaped to Philadelphia, where he earns money living by his wits and performing on the street. He is befriended by James Douglass, leader of a popular minstrel troupe struggling to compete with dozens of similar ensembles, who imagines that Henry’s skill and magnetism might restore his troupe’s sagging fortunes.</p><p>The problem is that black and white performers are not allowed to appear together onstage. Together, the two concoct a masquerade to protect Henry’s identity, and Henry creates a sensation in his first appearances with the troupe. Yet even as their plan begins to reverse the troupe’s decline, a brutal slave hunter named Tull Burton has been employed by Henry’s former master to track down the runaway and retrieve him, by any means necessary.</p><p>Bursting with narrative tension and unforgettable characters, shot through with unexpected turns and insight,<em>A Free State</em> is a thrilling reimagining of the American story by a novelist at the height of his powers.</p>