Newbery Medal Winner
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates
Summary
Elizabeth Yates dramatizes the life of Amos Fortune, an African prince captured and sold into slavery in colonial New England. The book follows his decades of labor as he learns the tanning trade, finally buys his own freedom at age sixty, and then purchases freedom for others. Based on a real man buried in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, the story examines dignity, faith, and the meaning of liberty.
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Historical Context & Significance
Yates based the book on the actual gravestone and records of Amos Fortune, who died in 1801 and left money to the town of Jaffrey.