Beloved is a 1987 novel by American novelist Toni Morrison. Set in the period after the American Civil War, the novel tells the story of formerly enslaved people whose Cincinnati home is haunted by a malevolent spirit. Sethe, a formerly enslaved mother of four, grapples with her traumatic past.

Understanding the Context

Get all the key plot points of Toni Morrison's Beloved on one page. From the creators of SparkNotes. A short summary of Toni Morrison's Beloved. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Beloved.

Key Insights

And Sethe's new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison. Beloved, novel by Toni Morrison, published in 1987 and winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize. The work examines the destructive legacy of slavery as it chronicles the life of a Black woman named Sethe, from her pre-Civil War days as a slave in Kentucky to her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1873. Beloved Plot Summary - Our literature expert shares a chapter-by-chapter review of Toni Morrison's famed novel.

Final Thoughts

Sixty million and more I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. Find out how and where to watch "Beloved" online on Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ today – including 4K and free options.