Force of a word

Lawrence Hill (Lisa Sakulensky photo)

The Canadian edition of Lawrence Hill's historical novel, "Someone Knows My Name," is "The Book of Negroes." In my interview with him last week, for today's Q&A-style profile, I asked him why the title was changed. His answer suggests a difference in American and Canadian sensitivities about words:

"Originally, the plan was to have the [Canadian title] in the United States. I liked it, and still do, because it had a rich historical authenticity, and also a faintly biblical ring to it, as the Book of Negroes is the name of this British ledger into which Aminita [the escaped slave who narrates the story], and 3,000 other black Americans have to have their names entered before they are allowed to flee Manhattan with the British and go to Nova Scotia [at the end of the American Revolution].

"The American publisher [W.W. Norton] was concerned, first, that 'The Book of Negroes' sounded like nonfiction, but also, frankly, that the word 'Negroes' might offend American readers, and be so incendiary as to cause readers to turn away from the book. So I came up with another title for the American version.

"After the decision was made to change it, I started hearing back from all my black American relatives, in New York and Virginia, telling me that if they had seen a title like ["The Book of Negroes"], they would have been so offended by it that they wouldn't have given it the time of day. Then I went to this African-American genealogy conference in Burlington, Mass., and there again a number of African-Americans told me that if they had seen this title without knowing me, or having been exposed to the history beneath the title, they would have found it so troublesome and offensive that they would have kept on going. So, I guess I'm saying that there is a possibility that the word might have turned off many more readers than it would have attracted. I sort of consoled myself with the recognition that many Canadian writers have seen their books change titles as they have gone south of the border."