A new perspective on pre-Civil War slavery is described in Edward Jones' novel "The Known World." Unlike many famous novels dealing with slavery, Jones chose to focus on the thoughts and emotions of both slaves and slave owners and how they interact with each other. Set in a wealthy Virginia county, the practice of owning slaves is common to both white and black men. The focus of the story is Henry Townsend, a former black slave who was freed from slavery by his father, also a former slave. As time passes, Henry never loses the admiration he has for his former master and considers him an idol. Much to his parents' disappointment, Henry not only enjoys life as a free black man after being purchased by his parents, but also takes advantage of his right to own slaves. He feels no guilt about owning slaves, but instead feels he is increasing his inheritance and value. Henry believes that if someone didn't want to be a slave they should pay for their freedom, just like his father had done. If they really want freedom, in his eyes they can get it. But when Henry dies it is his widow, Caldonia, a free-born black woman, torn between loyalty to her race and loyalty to her deceased husband. Caldonia ultimately remains true to the legacy her husband had built, but it is understood that she does so due to societal pressures. Jones chooses to show his characters' thoughts rather than tell them, which undeniably gives more depth to all the characters. Through the actions of both slave and slave owner, “The Known World” shows that the world surrounding the institution of slavery has more to do with social status than race and color on the card. ......and the reader in the story. It is precisely this detail, however, that makes the story go astray in several scenes. In writing his stories Jones has a tendency to talk about things and then suddenly go in another direction for a few pages. All these different directions the story is going in can make it difficult to distinguish between past and present time, as well as confusing the reader as to which character is being described at any given moment. The novel's vocabulary was not difficult to understand, and even the slave jargon, which can be difficult to translate, was easy to understand. Overall, as long as "The Known World" is read carefully enough and a distinction can be made between tales of the past and present, the novel succeeds in shedding light on aspects of pre-Civil War slavery that past novels have failed to to do..