{"product_id":"appointed-an-american-novel-hardcover","title":"Appointed: An American Novel - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eWilliam H. Anderson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eWalter H. Stowers\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eEric Gardner\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAppointed\u003c\/i\u003e is a recently recovered novel written by William Anderson and Walter Stowers, two of the editors of the Detroit \u003ci\u003ePlaindealer\u003c\/i\u003e, a long-running and well-regarded African American newspaper of the late nineteenth century. Drawing heavily on nineteenth-century print culture, the authors tell the story of John Saunders, a college-educated black man living and working in Detroit. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, Saunders befriends his white employer's son, Seth Stanley, and the two men form a lasting, cross-racial bond that leads them to travel together to the American South. On their journey, John shows Seth the harsh realities of American racism and instructs him in how he might take responsibility for alleviating the effects of racism in his own home and in the white world broadly. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a coauthored novel of frustrated ambition, cross-racial friendship, and the tragedy of lynching, \u003ci\u003eAppointed\u003c\/i\u003e represents a unique contribution to African American literary history. This is the first scholarly edition of \u003ci\u003eAppointed\u003c\/i\u003e, and it includes a collection of writings from the \u003ci\u003ePlaindealer\u003c\/i\u003e, the authors' short story \"A Strange Freak of Fate,\" and an introduction that locates \u003ci\u003eAppointed\u003c\/i\u003e and its authors within the journalistic and literary currents of the United States in the late nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEric Gardner is a professor of English at Saginaw Valley State University and award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eUnexpected Places: Relocating Nineteenth-Century African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlack Print Unbound: The \u003c\/i\u003eChristian Recorder, \u003ci\u003eAfrican American Literature, and Periodical Culture\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBryan Sinche is associate professor and chair of English and modern languages at the University of Hartford. He has published over a dozen articles on nineteenth-century American literature and culture and is the editor of the teacher's guide accompanying the \u003ci\u003eNorton Anthology of African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 348\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.88 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 01, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42106825769095,"sku":"9781946684394","price":179.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/cf80185bf23f5bd7c360979fa81a5d50.webp?v=1732448771","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/appointed-an-american-novel-hardcover","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}