Fire on the Water

"Fire on the Water" by Lenora Warren explores representations of shipboard mutiny and insurrection in late 18th- and early 19th-century literature from an abolitionist and slave violence perspective. The book centers on the experiences of five black sailors who inspired or found resonance within fiction: Olaudah Equiano, Denmark Vesey, Joseph Cinqué, Madison Washington, and Washington Goode. By examining both well-known and lesser-known texts and figures, Warren reveals the complexity of literary engagement with the politics of slave violence.