Radnor House History Department – Reading List – Senior - A-Level Civil
Rights
*J* -Teenage Reader
*Q* - Quick Read suitable for all
*S* - Senior Reader
*A* - Autobiographical
Anderson, M T The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing, traitor to the nation
*S*
Complex and provocative trilogy set in an alternative America which forces the reader to reexamine ideas about American history. In the first part, an African slave child becomes part
of an experiment to see if black slaves are capable of higher learning.
Angelou, Maya I know why the caged bird sings (and sequels)
*A*
Maya Angelou is an African American writer. As a child in Arkansas in the 1930s, Maya
experienced segregation at first hand. She became an activist in the Civil Rights movement
and remains a spokesperson for black women in the US today.
Baldwin, James Go tell it on the mountain
*S*
Set in 1930s Harlem and published in 1953, this semi-autobiographical novel shows the
effects of slavery on future generations of African Americans.
Cisneros, Sandra The house on Mango Street
*S*
Esperanza is a Mexican American girl living in a Mexican ghetto in Chicago during the 1970s.
In a series of vignettes, she charts her everyday life as a young woman growing up in the
patriarchal Chicano society.
Flagg, Fannie Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop cafe
*S*
The story of two women in the Deep South during the 1920s and 1930s which raises a lot of
questions about about relationships between both the sexes and races at the time.
French, Madeline The women’s room
*S*
The bible of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the late 1970s and 1980s. Set in the
1950s and 1960s, the novel captured perfectly the frustrations of a generation of women
fed up with being tied to traditional roles.
Haley, Alex Roots
*S*
This massive tome is a family saga. It is the story of 6 generations of African Americans,
starting with Kunte Kinte who was kidnapped in The Gambia in 1767 and sold as a slave in
Maryland, USA.
Johnston, Tony Bone by bone by bone
*J*
David is growing up in Tennessee during the 1950s. His father is a doctor, an educated man
and important figure in the community. His father is also a racist. David’s best friend,
Malcom is black and his father threatens to kill Malcolm if David ever brings him home.
Kidd, Sue Monk The secret life of bees
*S*
One of those books that leave you feeling good about the world, though the author has
been criticised for looking back on a turbulent period in history with rose-tinted spectacles.
The book looks not only at racial equality but also equality between the sexes. It’s 1964 and
President Johnson has just signed the Civil Rights Act. Set in South Carolina, it begins when
14 year old Lily, a white motherless girl with a sadistic father, accompanies her black nanny
to town so she can register to vote.
King, Dexter Scott Growing up King
*A*
The autobiography of Martin Luther King’s son. Scott was just seven years old when his
father was murdered. Life is hard for anyone who loses a parent at such a young age, but
when that parent is regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th century history,
then the burden is enormous.
Lee, Harper To kill a mockingbird
*S*
This book, published in 1960 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, was an instant
success. It remains the most widely read book dealing with race in America. The story takes
place in the Deep South during the 1930s. It is a superb account of bigotry and injustice.
Levin, Ira The Stepford wives
*S*
The term “Stepford Wives”, comes from this satirical thriller first published in 1972. It is
used to describe women who are totally subservient to their husbands. The book examines
the role of the stereotypical post-war American housewife. It is about a young mother, who
moves to a the town of Stepford, Connecticut where all the women seem like mindless
zombies, pandering to their husbands’ every need. She begins to suspect that these women
are robots, created by their husbands..
Malcolm X & Haley, Alex The Autobiography of Malcolm X
*A*
Courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans or racist Black Supremacist?
Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a controversial and influential activist. This is his own story as
told to the journalist Alex Haley.
Morrison, Toni The bluest eye
*S*
This is the most controversial of Morrison’s novels and there have been many attempts to
ban it from school libraries in the US. Set in the Midwest in the early 1940s, the book
examines the pressure that black people feel to live up to white society’s ideas of beauty.
Steinbeck, John The grapes of wrath
*S*
An American classic that was denounced as socialist propaganda on publication. The story of
a poor family during the Great Depression. Seduced by the promise of well paid work, the
family make the long journey from the Great Plains to California. When they arrive, they find
economic conditions are little better than in the Dust Bowl they have left behind. Another
famous novel by Steinbeck, the shorter Of mice and men, is also about migrant farm
workers in California during the Great Depression.
Stockett, Kathryn The help
*S*
Published in 2009, this book rapidly became a best-seller in America. Set in Mississippi in
1962, it is the story of a friendship between 2 black maids and a rich white young woman, a
friendship which contravenes the strict Jim Crow Laws
Stowe, Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom’s cabin
*S*
A classic American anti-slavery novel. Published in 1852, it caused many Americans to reflect
on their treatment of slaves and fuelled the Abolitionalist cause. In the 20th century the
book has been criticised for stereotyping black people.
Tartt, Donna The little friend
*S*
A complex mystery story set in Mississippi during the early 1970s. During the long Summer
holidays, Harriet sets out to find the truth surrounding the death of her brother who was
found hung in 1964. An excellent portrait of everyday life in the rural Deep South in the
aftermath of the Civil Rights Act.
Taylor, Mildred Roll of thunder, hear my cry (and sequels)
*J*
A modern children’s classic. The story of The Logans, an African American family in living
rural Mississippi during the 1930s depression, when segregation was strictly enforced and
lynch mobs were commonplace.
Twain, Mark Huckleberry Finn
*S*
Another American classic. Huckleberry Finn is set in the Deep South. It is about a boy called
Huckleberry Finn and a slave called Jim who run away together, journeying down the
Mississippi River. It was published in 1883 nearly 20 years after slavery was abolished, but
set in an earlier period. However, the imposition of the Jim Crow Laws meant that Black
people were still oppressed. Through Huck, the reader sees the hypocrisy of the Deep
South. Huckleberry Finn is the 4th most banned book in American schools because it is
written in the language of the time and includes many racial slurs, with frequent uses of the
“N” word.
Walker, Alice Meridian
*S*
The story of a young Black woman who becomes a Civil Rights activist during the 1960s. .
Wright, Richard Black boy
*A*
The autobiography of an African American who became a famous writer. Richard was born
into a poor and troubled family in the Deep South in 1908. He experienced further
discrimination as a black person living under the harsh Jim Crow Laws. Despite these
difficulties, he showed early promise as a writer.