Author Marlen Bodden reads from "The Wedding Gift" at the 2010 Harlem Book Fair

Marlen Bodden will be reading passages from her thrilling novel The Wedding Gift in the courtyard of the revered Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Based on an actual 1840 court case in Alabama, The Wedding Gift draws readers into the dark world of American slavery, delivering an unflinching account of the tactics used to control both slave- and free women alike. The novel reveals how wealthy planters coerced women—black and white, exposing the brutality of slavery in the antebellum American South and its impact on one family and its women. Over 40,000 people are expected to gather at this years’ Harlem Book Fair, showcasing the greatest modern literary works from African Americans across the nation. In addition to vendors and readings, there will be panel discussions on the Black experience and literary culture, book signings, interviews, a children’s books pavilion, live poetry, musical performances, and much more.