Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons
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| Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons | |
| Author | Ann Rinaldi |
|---|---|
| Translator | Spanish |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Great Episodes |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
| Publication date | 1996 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-15-200876-4 |
| Preceded by | Keep Smiling Through |
| Followed by | An Acquaintance with Darkness |
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons is a 1996 historical novel by Ann Rinaldi. It is part of the Great Episodes series. The story is told in first-person narration
[edit] Plot summary
This novel takes place in Boston just before the American Revolution. Phillis Wheatley is about to be "tested" to see if her poetry is really hers. She is the first African-American poet ever to be published in America. She begins to contemplate how she found herself in that situation, and the story goes into flashback, exploring her life from become a slave up to that point.
Phillis used to live in Senegal, but she has been sold into slavery, along with her mother and her friend, Obour. As they make their journey across the Atlantic Ocean, her mother is killed by one of the men on the crew. Here she develops a hatred for the slave trade and the slave traders. When she arrives in Boston, she is purchased by the Wheatley family. Nathaniel, the older son, teaches her to read and Phillis develops a crush on him.
Later, after Phillis passes her test, she visits England and discovers her newfound fame. Nathaniel has fallen in love with and married an English woman. Benjamin Franklin meets Phillis and encourages her to remain in England, where she will be free. Nevertheless, she returns to America where Mr. Wheatley eventually frees Phillis. She marries John Peters, a free black man. At the novel's end, Phillis gets to meet her hero George Washington, a fan of hers.
