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Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. His “histories from below,” including The Slave Ship: A Human History, have won numerous awards, including the George Washington Book Prize, and have been translated into nineteen languages worldwide. He has produced a film, Ghosts of Amistad, with director Tony Buba, and written a play, The Return of Benjamin Lay, with playwright Naomi Wallace. His new book, “Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea,” will be published by Viking-Penguin May 2025.

Books and Other Writings

Freedom Ship book cover by Marcus Rediker

Freedom Ship
The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea

Coming in May 2025 from Viking-Penguin.
A definitive, sweeping account of the Underground Railroad’s long-overlooked maritime origins. Deeply researched and grippingly told, Freedom Ship offers a groundbreaking new look into the secret world of stowaways and the vessels that carried them to freedom across the North and into Canada.

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Revolution by Fire by Marcus Rediker book cover image

Revolution by Fire
New York's Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, a Graphic Novel

by David Lester, Marcus Rediker, and Paul Buhle.
Based on the little known real life “Slave Insurrection” of 1741, this book imagines outlaw fugitive John Gwin and an eclectic crew of renegades as they attempt to disrupt and overthrow the colonial social order.

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The Return of Benjamin Lay book cover

The Return of Benjamin Lay
A play written by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker

The Return of Benjamin Lay sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man. The play opened at the Finborough Theatre, London, in June 2023.

 

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Under the Banner of King Death book cover by Marcus Rediker

Under the Banner of King Death

Pirates of the Atlantic, A Graphic Novel

by David Lester and Marcus Rediker, with Paul Buhle. A tale of mutiny, bloody battle, and social revolution, Under the Banner of King Death novelizes for the first time the real pirates, an itinerant community of outsiders, behind our legends.
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Book cover of Prophet Against Slavery by Marcus Rediker

Prophet Against Slavery
Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel

by David Lester, Marcus Rediker, and Paul Buhle
The revolutionary life of an 18th-century dwarf activist who was among the first to fight against slavery and animal cruelty. An action-packed chronicle of the remarkable and radical Benjamin Lay.
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“The Return of Benjamin Lay” 2025 Showings

"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic

Written by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker

 

Pittsburgh: Quantum Theatre
January 31, 2025 – February 23, 2025

 

New York: Sheen Center for Thought and Culture
(March 14-April 6, 2025)

 

Philadelphia: Quintessence Theatre
(May 1-18, 2025)

 

Featuring acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli and directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, “The Return of Benjamin Lay” sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.

 

The Return of Benjamin Lay, World Premiere, London, June-July 2023

"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic

Written by Marcus Rediker and Naomi Wallace, world premiere at the Finborough Theatre, London, June 13–July 8, 2023. Featuring acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli and directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, “The Return of Benjamin Lay” sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.

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Ghosts of Amistad Film Website

Screen shot of the Ghosts of Amistad documentary website
Ghosts of Amistad Film now FREE
Full-length film online in English with subtitled versions in French, Italian and Spanish

Ghosts of Amistad chronicles a trip to Sierra Leone to visit the home villages of the people who seized the slave schooner Amistad in 1839, to interview elders about local memory of the case, and to search for the long-lost ruins of Lomboko, the slave trading factory where their cruel transatlantic voyage began. The documentary film’s new website includes numerous resources, including study guides, to support educators around this topic.

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Ghosts of Amistad award laurels