The Known World

I liked this book written by Edward Jones. Henry Townsend is a black farmer freed from slavery in the 1840s. He buys a farm and some slaves to care for it. Since Virginia forbids a free black man from buying slaves directly, he partners with a white man named William Robbins. Townsend manages his farm very carefully to make sure he never violates any laws. When he dies suddenly, his widow Caldonia takes over the estate, but she is unprepared for the role and chaos ensues.