New Book ‘Burn Down Master’s House’ Will Tackle Uprisings During Slavery

Clay Cane, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author, is set to release Burn Down Master’s House, a powerful historical fiction novel exploring forgotten stories of enslaved individuals who rebelled against their oppressors. Scheduled for publication by Dafina Books in February 2026, the novel draws inspiration from real acts of defiance, such as poisoning masters and burning down plantations, offering a bold reimagining of historical resistance.

Cane, known for The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump, describes the book as deeply personal and redemptive. Each character is inspired by real people, and the narrative seeks to provide love and justice where history delivered pain. Cane aims to counter efforts to soften slavery’s brutal realities and to confront erasure, emphasizing the importance of these truths in today’s political climate.

Described as reminiscent of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer and Nathan Harris’s The Sweetness of Water, Burn Down Master’s House serves as both a reckoning with history and a call to action. Cane hopes to inspire readers to confront their own obstacles to freedom while honoring the courage of those who resisted oppression.

Source: BET