The Slave Dancer

By: Paula Fox

Narrated by: Peter MacNicol

Jessie Bollier often played his fife to earn a few pennies down by the New Orleans docks. One afternoon a sailor asked him to pipe a tune, and that evening Jessie was kidnapped and dumped aboard The Moonlight, a slave ship, where a hateful duty awaited him. He was to play music so the slaves could "dance" to keep their muscles strong, their bodies profitable. Jessie was sickened by the thought of taking part in the business of trading rum and tobacco for blacks and then selling the ones who survived the frightful sea voyage from Africa. But to the men of the ship a "slave dancer" was necessary to ensure their share of the profit. They did not heed the horrors that every day grew more vivid, more inescapable to Jessie. Yet , even after four months of fear, calculated torture, and hazardous sailing with a degraded crew, Jessie was to face a final horror that would stay with him for the rest of his life.©2008 Paula Fox; (P)2008 Listening Library

Beautiful

The story was amazing and I loved the person speaking it. I really felt the connection❤️

Read this story as a child.

Listening to it now has been a true pleasure and I am glad I was able to reconnect with this book in a whole new way.

Just amazing evokes raw emotions

I’ve loved this book since childhood. It puts a narrative on how poorly slaves were treated. It shows the worst and best in humanity. Worth a listen at any age!

A black time in history

A great story of growing up in a perilous time and culture and trying to deal with inhuman situations. At times horrid, but over all a soaring triumph of human spirit. Very poetically told.

Entertaining tale

Well written and well read but the music was distracting and annoying. Good story overall.