About the book
Inspired by a true story, Out of the Darkness chronicles the journey of a nineteenth century child coal miner as he rises from the ashes of poverty and tragedy to reach for his dreams.
Inspired by a true story, Out of the Darkness chronicles the journey of a nineteenth century child coal miner as he rises from the ashes of poverty and tragedy to reach for his dreams. In his powerful debut novel Out of the Darkness, David Jacinto explores his family’s history and unpacks issues of class warfare and child labor against the backdrop of England’s Industrial Revolution. Readers meet Tommy Wright, a seven-year-old who follows in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, working in coal mines in Yorkshire, England. The work is brutal and life-threatening, but Tommy swallows his fears to help support his family, working alongside his father, twelve hours a day, six days a week. After disaster strikes and many of his friends die in a mine explosion, a devastated Tommy and his self-educated mother decide that Tommy and his siblings would have a different fate, one that would free them from the iron-fisted wealthy aristocrats who own the coal mines and villages families like Tommy’s call home.
As Tommy matures, he determines his own fate, defying the odds to excel in an engineering career and waging a noble fight against child labor. Bolstered by family, faith, and the love of strong, determined women, Tommy confronts his oppressors, eventually immigrating to America to pursue the life of his dreams.
Amazon No. 1 New Release, Best Seller in its class
New York City BB Award, Best Historical Fiction 2024
Prestigious Firebird Award, First Prize Historical Fiction 2024
Tolstoy European Silver Medal, 2024 Historical Fiction
2024 Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner
Best Historical Fiction of 2024
Encinitas, CA - The NYC Big Book Award recognized Out of the Darkness: A Novel. Book One in the Courageous Series as the 2024 winner in the Historical Fiction category.
The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, editors, librarians, and book cover designers. Selected award winners are based on overall excellence.
Out of the Darkness is based on the true story of a nineteenth-century child coal miner rising out of the ashes of poverty and tragedy to change the world. It's the story of greed, love, sacrifice, faith, and the courage to push aside fear and jump into the refiner's fire where the finest qualities of character are forged.
In 1837, seven-year-old Thomas Wright followed in his family's footsteps into one of England's most dangerous coal mines. He struggled with childhood fears, working twelve-hour days, six days a week in the darkness 500-feet below ground. That was until disaster struck in one of England's most horrific accidents that changes the direction of his life and the course of history.
This is the fast-moving story of a young boy overcoming the iron-fisted rule of the massively wealthy lord of the land, who not only owned much of South Yorkshire's coal mines and the villages in which the miners lived, but the mortgage on their lives. With the help of his family, he confronts the tyrannical system of industrial slavery, His Lordship's brutal psychopathic enforcer, and a society that fostered the oppression of the working class. From his desperate beginnings, we follow Tom on a path to a brilliant career, his love affair with a strong-willed woman, and his courageous fight to help change the course of industrial slavery in England.
It's a masterfully told story of the great sweep of human desire for freedom and liberty; not just for himself, but for his children and his children's children. Like many immigrants in the mid-nineteenth century, Thomas Wright was drawn to what Abraham Lincoln called, "the last best hope on earth." and has left a vast American legacy, including his seven-year-old great, great, great, great grandson Cole, pictured on the front cover of this book.
NYC Big Book Award, https://www.nycbigbookaward.com ,received book submissions worldwide. Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in record numbers. "We were delighted to see so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participate this year. I can't wait to share these books with a global readership," said awards sponsor Gabrielle Olezak.