Madison Smartt Bell Books In Order

Publication Order of Haitian Revolutionary Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Great Discoveries Books

Publication Order of New Stories From The South Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Madison Smartt Bell is an American author of fiction. He was born August 1, 1957, in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the critically acclaimed author of over a dozen novels, story collections, and numerous essays as well as reviews that have been featured in such publications as the New York Times Book Review and Harper’s. While he has written a variety of standalone fiction novels, he is particularly recognized for his work on the Haitian Revolutionary Trilogy.

His novels have been finalists for honors and awards such as the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award. Bell has taught at creative writing programs at Johns Hopkins, Goucher College, and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He is known for work that has a sweeping philosophical and historical scope paired with a sensitivity to the voices of characters that exist on the margins of society.

He is the author of the Haitian Revolutionary Trilogy. This amazing trilogy starts off with the release of All Souls’ Rising, which came out in 1995. The book was written along with the help of Mark Mitchell. The first book focuses on the slave uprising in Haiti, a contribution to the revolutionary fever that swept the western world at the end of the 18th century.

The second title in the series is called Master of the Crossroads. It focuses on Toussaint Louverture, who was a literate slave that would end up fueling the revolution. He was also incredibly skilled at military maneuvers and was the figure that maneuvered to try and free his people from the grip of the Europeans who enslaved them.

The book starts out with Toussaint as a general in the Spanish army. The third book is titled The Stone That the Builder Refused. It is the final volume in this masterful trilogy and follows up on Haiti that provides the reader with a conclusion to the dramatic and passionate story of a people’s quest for freedom against their oppressors.

All Souls’ Rising is the first installment in Madison Smartt Bell’s Haitian Revolutionary trilogy. In this book, Bell brings a decisive moment in history to life that would be a landmark moment when it comes to race, colonialism, and class. The uprising of the slaves in Haiti was a huge moment for the people there, but it also would prove to be a big contribution to the revolutionary tide that came over the western world at the end of the 18th century.

This brutal rebellion would be the one that sought to turn over completely a system of slavery that was as vicious as it was profitable. It was this uprising that would take Haiti from being a colony of Europe to the first Black republic in the world at the time. This crazy storm would transform this land forever. Out of the chaos emerges the figure of Toussaint Louverture. He was a literate slave who was loyal and a Catholic as well as a Vodouisant.

Toussaint comes out as an unlikely hero of the movement. It is he who will start a revolutionary war that is founded on the basis of equality and liberty. With a cast of characters that cover everyone from the rich to the poor to male and female, black and white, free and slave, All Souls’ Rising is an interesting look at a movement in history that was born out of pure spirit and desperation as well as the will to be free and have the same human rights that everyone else does.

This visceral portrait of the revolution that amazed the world provides a real sense of the confusion of the times as a people swept towards revolution as a way to free themselves. Full of detail and life, you must check out this debut novel in the series from Madison Smartt Bell.

Master of the Crossroads is the second installment in the Haitian Revolutionary Trilogy. In this engaging sequel to the first, Bell’s novel is back and depicts the real-life figure of Toussaint Louverture. Toussaint is a former slave as well as a military genius that would prove to be the liberator of Haiti and its people.

Toussaint would be known in history as the person to lead the only truly successful revolution by slaves in history. In the beginning of this book, the reader finds Toussaint as a general in the Spanish army (second tier). The army is supporting the fight against the French by the rebel slaves. However, Toussaint cannot trust everyone.

When he is betrayed by former allies as well as the commanders of the Spanish Army, Toussaint combines his army with that of the French. Thus he is able to take territories that are vital to the fight from them as well as drain manpower from the control of the Spanish, who are being weakened more with every bold move that Toussaint makes.

His army is one of several now, and the brilliance of this move means that Toussaint is the one to emerge victoriously. He is able to successfully fend off his enemies so that he can take control of a French colony as well as establish a new constitution that gives them the rights that they deserve. Haiti is the one slave revolt in the history of the recorded years to throw off the chains of its oppressors and no longer be servile to others but live as free men.

This great novel from Madison Smartt Bell is an active look at history and real-life events that transpire. It catches a nation in the moment of birth where the birth pangs have given way to total chaos. A country on the edge of justice must have a leader, and the former slave is the one to do it. Toussaint is successful in carrying a nation to freedom.

The actions of one visionary are all that it takes to bring a country to the light. No longer are the people that live there enslaved. Pick up Master of the Crossroads to live all of the action in this phenomenal novel from Madison Smartt Bell for yourself!