Harrisonburg educator and author George Newman’s novel was published over a century after it was originally written. Now, his work is being brought to life in a staged reading at the Virginia Festival of the Book. WMRA’s Kate Bean reports.
This weekend in Charlottesville the 32nd annual Virginia Festival of the Book will celebrate literature connected to the theme of revolutions. One of the novels being highlighted is “A Miserable Revenge: A Story of Life in Virginia,” written by George Newman. The novel, originally written in the late 1870s, will be brought to life in a staged reading directed by Leslie M. Scott-Jones. Born a free man in Winchester, Newman went on to become a leader and educator in Harrisonburg’s African American community.
Kalela Williams, the director of the Virginia Center for the Book, attended a symposium at James Madison University last year when “A Miserable Revenge” was published for the first time. Williams was incredibly moved by the event…