Black Gold: A Novel

A young model is catapulted from her life in Jamaica to the international world of high fashion in this tender, powerful novel about the distance one woman must travel to find out what it means to be truly free—by the national bestseller, winner of the Lambda Literary Award, a Stonewall Award Honor Book, Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun.

Nestled within Jamaica’s Blue Mountains, Cherry Village has belonged for generations to the Maroons—freed slaves descended from Faye’s ancestor, the legendary Grandy Henrietta. But Faye’s restless nature and independence have always marked her as different, and she dreams of a life beyond the rural coffee-farming community that follows the old ways. When Faye’s mother is forced to sell their ancestral land after falling ill, Faye worries she will be trapped forever.

A chance meeting with a modeling scout offers Faye the opportunity to save her family and pursue the freedom she craves. Her career will take her on a whirlwind journey of luxury and excess, love and adventure, as well as greed and deception. But her success will challenge everything she thought she knew about herself, forcing her to confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began generations before.

A story of land and river, myth and history, unbreakable hope and generational resilience, interwoven with Jamaican folklore and featuring an unforgettable heroine, Black Gold further establishes Nicole Dennis-Benn as one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary fiction.

Early Praises for BLACK GOLD

“With exquisite storytelling and vivid, lush descriptions, Nicole Dennis-Benn’s Black Gold takes readers through Jamaican history, the land and labor coffee growers, the contemporary fashion industry, and the complications of family, romance, and love. Every step of the way is captivating.” —Imani Perry, National Book Award–winning author of South to America

“Sexy and entrancing . . . In this mesmerizing tale, glamour, seduction, and the quest for self-actualization whisk readers from the coffee fields of Jamaica to the sensuous fashion houses of Paris, and beyond. . . . A wholly enthralling read you can’t help but love.” —Jonathan Escoffery, Booker Prize finalist and bestselling author of If I Survive You

“An incredible story of the difficulty and beauty that comes with becoming one’s self . . . In this epic, Dennis-Benn reminds us of the forces that shape our lives and the legacies we leave in our wake.” —Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author of Chain-Gang All-Stars

“Black Gold is a book I’ve been waiting to read all my life. Nicole Dennis-Benn weaves a masterful story of Jamaican women in all their profound beauty and complexity, asking us what is the weight of inheritance, what riches are rooted in family and in our homeland, and what does its legacy ask of us? This book is a necessary addition to the pantheon of Jamaican literature.” —Safiya Sinclair, National Book Critics Circle Award–winning and bestselling author of How to Say Babylon

“In Faye’s explorations and journeys, through the many worlds she occupies, Dennis-Benn once again elevates the language we hold for love, loss, and living. A deeply moving narrative—expansive in its scope, warm and true—Dennis-Benn’s Black Gold is absolutely marvelous.” —Bryan Washington, National Book Award finalist and author of Palaver

“A poetic, multilayered tale of a young woman’s quest for agency over her identity, her body, and her family’s ancestral territory . . . Set between the legendary coffee farms of Jamaica’s Blue Mountains and the glittering salons of the international fashion world, Black Gold explores themes of womanhood, ambition, survival, and community.” —Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Good Dirt and Black Cake

“Nicole Dennis-Benn writes from a deep place—a place of memory, history, and the unbreakable ties to the land of our ancestors. I will not easily forget the women of Black Gold, especially Faye, whose journey around the world captivated me until the very last page.” —Dolen Perkins-Valdez, New York Times bestselling author of Take My Hand

“Black Gold is a testament to the power of a dream, even one with its own deceptions, and the lengths we must go to in order to maintain our history and families. This is truly a brilliantly crafted narrative of fantasies, realities, and all their blurry in-betweens.” —Leila Mottley, New York Times bestselling author of Nightcrawling

“I could not put this book down, and I will never forget Faye’s quest for agency, liberation, and self-possession.” —Qian Julie Wang, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Country

Print Length: 336 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: Jan 12, 2027

Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches

ISBN: 1631497898

Patsy: A Novel

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