Die the Long Day is a celebrated 1972 historical novel by Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson. Set on a Jamaican sugar estate in the 1770s, it broke new ground in Caribbean literature as one of the first novels to extensively focus on the complex, inner lives of enslaved people rather than solely depicting them as victims.

It offers a stark, multi-layered look into the social stratifications, survival strategies, and psychological tolls of slavery on a plantation. The narrative details how different enslaved individuals navigated their realities—ranging from those in the plantation house and skilled workers to those involved in resistance and everyday survival.

ISBN: 9781845236175 Peepal Tree Press Author: Orlando Patterson