Award-winning historical fiction novel Freedom Dues by Indra Zuno, available now as audiobook narrated by Sarah-Jane Drummey
Hello again, dear audiobooks friends! In today’s spotlight article I will tell you a few things about Freedom Dues, a captivating historical fiction novel written by award-winning author Indra Zuno, which has been released in audiobook format quite recently.
First of all, we need to mention that Freedom Dues won the 2021 Gold Benjamin Franklin IBPA Award for the Historical Fiction category.
The audiobook is a little over 12 hours in duration, it is narrated by AudioFile Earphones Award winner Sarah-Jane Drummey and it has been published by Spinning a Yarn Press.
Now, let’s take a look at the Publisher’s Summary from which we will be able to find out more about this promising story and after that, I will help you make the acquaintance of our author and narrator.
1729.
Blair Eakins is a 15-year-old Ulster Scot living in Ireland under the crushing weight of famine, poverty, and prejudice against his people. In search of a better future for himself and his beloved, he pays for passage to Philadelphia the only way he can: he commits himself as an indentured servant for a term of four years.
In London, 10-year-old orphan pickpocket Mallie Ambrose is arrested for stealing a handkerchief. After experiencing the horror of Newgate Prison, she is sentenced to “Transportation”, bound into indentured servitude and exiled to Maryland for seven years.
As Blair and Mallie each endure hellish conditions, their paths eventually cross when they are acquired by the same owner. After Blair steps in to defend Mallie from their cruel master, the two escape and head west, finding unlikely allies among the Delaware Indians. But, as fugitives without rights, they live in constant fear of capture.
Indra Zuno was born in Mexico, where she enjoyed a successful career as a performer in theater and television before turning to writing. She was a recipient of the 2017–2018 UCLA Claire Carmichael Scholarship in Novel Writing, and was subsequently nominated for the 2017 UCLA James Kirkwood Prize in Creative Writing and the 2018 UCLA Allegra Johnson Writing Prize.
As part of her extensive research for her debut novel, Freedom Dues, Indra spent time in Northern Ireland, Pennsylvania, and two weeks aboard The Lady Washington, an eighteenth-century replica tall ship, washing decks, and climbing masts. She met with the Master Cordwainer at Colonial Williamsburg and with a member of the Delaware tribe who is the Director of the Lenape Language Project. Immersing herself in her subject, she read over one hundred books on white servitude, the Delaware tribe, and Scots-Irish immigration, and reviewed original eighteenth-century court records at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Archives.
To learn more, visit her website IndraZuno.com, and her socials – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Sarah-Jane Drummey is an AudioFile Earphones Award winner and has been on Best of the Year lists for her narrations.
Raised on the southwest coast of Ireland, her career as an actor has seen her play pivotal roles on some of the world’s main stages. She divides her time between Los Angeles, Madrid, and Dublin. Most of that time is spent directing films, hosting a podcast, and recording books.
I will return later this month with a full review for Freedom Dues, but until then take care, stay safe, and don’t forget, always listen with your heart!
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Victor Dima
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