"Liberty is Sweet": Reconstructing the World of Black Loyalists through Archival and Literary Detective Work with Jane Lancaster

Descripción

During the American Revolution, hundreds of enslaved Black Rhode Islanders navigated high-stakes choices in their pursuit of freedom. Reconstructing these lives requires rigorous historical detective work and some imagination to bridge the gaps left by sparse primary sources. OnThursday, October 1, 2026, at 5:30pm, the Rhode Island Historical Society’s Museum at the John Brown House will host scholar Jane Lancaster forLiberty is Sweet: Reconstructing the World of Black Loyalists through Archival and Literary Detective Work. This engaging lecture will highlight figures such as Arthur Bowler, whose trail spans records from Newport and Portsmouth to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, as Dr. Lancaster shares how deep archival research informs historical storytelling. She will also discuss how her decade-long investigation across archives in three nations demonstrates how historical fiction, firmly grounded in non-fiction scholarship, can illuminate the hidden agency and lived experiences of Revolutionary-era Black Loyalists.Dr. Jane Lancaster is an independent scholar based in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Brown University and has taught history at Brown, RISD, and the Lincoln School. Dr. Lancaster is the author of four non-fiction books—several focusing on Rhode Island history—and has published multiple articles on Rhode Island history ranging from 18th-century diaries to the Dorr War. Her latest book, Liberty is Sweet, is a historical novel directly informed by her extensive academic research on the Black Loyalist experience.Doors open at 4:30pm for a book signing and reception; the talk starts promptly at 5:30pm. Tickets cost $5 for RIHS members, and $10 for general admission. The book Liberty is Sweet will be available for purchase at the event.