Books and Other Writings
Freedom Ship
The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea
Coming in May 2025 from Viking-Penguin.
A definitive, sweeping account of the Underground Railroad’s long-overlooked maritime origins. Deeply researched and grippingly told, Freedom Ship offers a groundbreaking new look into the secret world of stowaways and the vessels that carried them to freedom across the North and into Canada.
The Black Schooner
Rebellion on the Amistad, A Graphic Novel
David Lester and Marcus Rediker with Paul Buhle
A stunning graphic history of how enslaved Africans on board the Amistad rebelled and captured the slave ship in 1839, challenging a whitewashed version of history and putting the Africans back at the center of their own freedom story.
Revolution by Fire
New York's Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, a Graphic Novel
by David Lester, Marcus Rediker, and Paul Buhle.
Based on the little known real life “Slave Insurrection” of 1741, this book imagines outlaw fugitive John Gwin and an eclectic crew of renegades as they attempt to disrupt and overthrow the colonial social order.
The Return of Benjamin Lay
A play written by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker
The Return of Benjamin Lay sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man. The play opened at the Finborough Theatre, London, in June 2023.
Learn More
Under the Banner of King Death
Pirates of the Atlantic, A Graphic Novel
Prophet Against Slavery
Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel
New Film:
Becoming Benjamin Lay
A New Documentary by
Tony Buba and Marcus Rediker
The documentary Becoming Benjamin Lay by director Tony Buba and historian Marcus Rediker explores the life and ideas of an unknown radical Quaker dwarf abolitionist who demanded an end to slavery almost 300 years ago. At the center of the film is the prize-winning play Rediker wrote with Naomi Wallace, The Return of Benjamin Lay. Actor Mark Povinelli embodies the visionary Lay, challenging us to live with courage and conviction in dark times. The film brings a forgotten hero back to modern public memory.
“THE RETURN OF BENJAMIN LAY”
2026 READINGS
Written by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker
Featuring acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli and directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, “The Return of Benjamin Lay” sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.
Thursday 15 October at 7:00 pm: Middletown Friends Meetinghouse, 453 W. Maple Avenue, Langhorne, in collaboration with the African American Museum of Bucks County, First Baptist Church of Langhorne, and Bethlehem A.M.E. Church. Contact: Patricia Mervine.
Friday 16 October, 2:00 pm: Quaker Village, 50 S. Congress Street, Newtown Pennsylvania, including a reception with Marcus Rediker and Mark Povinelli. Contact: Chiyo Moriuchi.
Saturday 17 October. 2:30 pm: Friends Meetinghouse, 610 Conestoga Rd., Villanova, Pennsylvania, followed by a reception with Marcus Rediker and Mark Povinelli. Contact: Lee Hall.
Full Productions:
London: Finborough Theatre
(June 13–July 8, 2023)
Pittsburgh: Quantum Theatre
January 31, 2025 – February 23, 2025
New York: Sheen Center for Thought and Culture
(March 14-April 6, 2025)
Philadelphia: Quintessence Theatre
(May 1-18, 2025)
Film: Ghosts of Amistad
FREEACCESS
In English with French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Subtitles
Ghosts of Amistad chronicles a trip to Sierra Leone to visit the home villages of the people who seized the slave schooner Amistad in 1839, to interview elders about local memory of the case, and to search for the long-lost ruins of Lomboko, the slave trading factory where their cruel transatlantic voyage began. The documentary film’s new website includes numerous resources, including study guides, to support educators around this topic.
