The explosion came in March 1859. It was late evening and my father had been drinking more than usual. I was in the library reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius when he burst in.

I also began exploring books my father didn’t know were in his library, volumes that previous owners had left behind or that had been accidentally included in lots purchased at estate sales. These included abolitionist literature that was technically illegal in Mississippi. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass published in 1845. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852. …