Washington Black : a novel / Esi Edugyan.

When two English brothers take the helm of a Barbados sugar plantation, nervousness and fear run high. Washington Black, an eleven year-old field slave who has known no other life, is aghast to find himself selected as personal servant to one of these men. His new master is the eccentric Christopher Wilde - naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor and abolitionist, whose single-minded pursuit of the perfect aerial machine mystifies all around him. Through Wilde, Washington is initiated into a world of wonder: a world where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning.