Historical fiction book · Curated
Kindred
Octavia E. Butler · historical fiction
On her twenty-sixth birthday in 1976 Los Angeles, Dana Franklin is yanked to a Maryland plantation whenever Rufus Weylin, a red-haired boy who will grow up to enslave her ancestors, is about to die—and she has to keep him alive or never be born. Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel is time-slip historical fiction of the early nineteenth-century South: each stay is longer, her white husband Kevin is stranded with her, and the past does not return her whole.
Why read it: A widely searched time-slip novel—the Butler classic readers look up by name, and an antebellum counterpart to Outlander and Doomsday Book already on the shelf (not a sequel to either).
About this historical novel
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is historical fiction set around 1815–1830s / 1976 in the Regency / Napoleonic / Late 20th century period with key settings including Maryland, Eastern Shore, Los Angeles, Weylin plantation. On her twenty-sixth birthday in 1976 Los Angeles, Dana Franklin is yanked to a Maryland plantation whenever Rufus Weylin, a red-haired boy who will grow up to enslave her ancestors, is about to die—and she has to keep him alive or never be born. Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel is time-slip historical fiction of the early nineteenth-century South: each stay is longer, her white husband Kevin is stranded with her, and the past does not return her whole.
On HisFic we tag it under 8. Time-slip & dual timeline and 1. Literary historical fiction so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include slavery, ancestry, time travel, survival, and kinship. A widely searched time-slip novel—the Butler classic readers look up by name, and an antebellum counterpart to Outlander and Doomsday Book already on the shelf (not a sequel to either).
Use HisFic’s free journey planner to stay in this era or subgenre, save titles to a want-to-read list in your browser, and open Amazon when you are ready to buy. HisFic is discovery-only—not a bookstore—so pages like this exist to help you choose the next historical novel with intent.
Plot summary
On her twenty-sixth birthday in 1976 Los Angeles, Dana Franklin is yanked to a Maryland plantation whenever Rufus Weylin, a red-haired boy who will grow up to enslave her ancestors, is about to die—and she has to keep him alive or never be born. Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 novel is time-slip historical fiction of the early nineteenth-century South: each stay is longer, her white husband Kevin is stranded with her, and the past does not return her whole. A widely searched time-slip novel—the Butler classic readers look up by name, and an antebellum counterpart to Outlander and Doomsday Book already on the shelf (not a sequel to either).
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Eras
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Regions & places
North America
Maryland · Eastern Shore · Los Angeles · Weylin plantation
Themes
- slavery
- ancestry
- time travel
- survival
- kinship
Tags
time-slip · classic