Books

Concord author’s book, centered on Boston’s Civil War-era history, wins Pulitzer

“No Right to an Honest Living” by Jacqueline Jones won the Pulitzer Prize in History.

May 7, 2024

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A book that delves into the struggles of Black workers in Boston during the Civil War won the Pulitzer Prize in History on Monday.

“No Right to an Honest Living” by Jacqueline Jones was published in January 2023.

Congratulations to Jacqueline Jones, @BasicBooks and @UTAustin. #Pulitzer pic.twitter.com/9dVvkNufdR
— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) May 6, 2024

Jones, who is the Ellen C. Temple Professor of Women’s History Emerita at the University of Texas at Austin and a past president of the American Historical Association, lives in Concord.

In “No Right to an Honest Living,” she examines the hypocrisy of 19th century Boston, and how, despite being the country’s hub for abolitionism and anti-slavery rhetoric, justice for Black workers “was elusive” and the city was “far from a beacon of equality,” according to the publisher’s description. The book examines how, with that juxtaposition and hypocrisy, Boston was a microcosm for the nation.

“Highlighting the everyday struggles of ordinary Black workers, this book shows how injustice in the workplace prevented Boston—and the United States—from securing true equality for all,” the book’s description reads.

Two of Jones’s previous books, “A Dreadful Deceit” and “Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow,” were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in History. “No Right to an Honest Living” is her fifth book.