The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

The title story of this 1899 collection by the well-known poet follows a slave woman name Cassie and her baby boy Gideon, named after the Biblical warrior that his mother heard about in church. Other stories include “Mammy Peggy’s Pride,” “Viney’s Free Papers,” “An Old-Time Christmas,” and “The Faith Cure Man.”