Yoruba Boy Running

Based on real historical events, Yor ba Boy Running charts Samuel Ajayi Crowther's miraculous journey from slave to liberator, boy to man, running to resisting

'Run, j yi, run!'

The day the Malian slave traders invaded the Nigerian town of Osog n, thirteen-year-old j yi's life was split in two.

Before, there was his childhood, surrounded by friends and family, watched over by the ancient Yor ba gods of forest and water, earth and sky. After- capture, slavery - and release, into the service of a new god, his own culture left far behind. So j yi becomes Samuel Crowther - missionary, linguist, minister - and abolitionist- driven to negotiate against his own people to end the miserable trade in human beings which destroyed his family.

Drawing on the prolific writings of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Biyi Bandele has created a many-voiced, kaleidoscopic portrait of an extraordinary man. From the heart-stopping drama of j yi's last day of freedom to the farcical intrigue of the Osog n court; from a meeting with Queen Victoria; to his consecration as the first African Bishop of the Anglican Church, his journey, like all great odysseys, circles back to where he began. By turns witty, moving and quietly political, Biyi Bandele's reimagining of Crowther's life is a brilliant tour de force.

Cover artwork Chris Ofili, Blind Leading Blind, 2005 The artist.