Melvin Patrick Ely author biography, plus links to books by Melvin Patrick Ely.

Melvin Patrick Ely

Melvin Patrick Ely is the author of Israel on the Appomattox: A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom from the 1790s through the Civil War, which won the Bancroft Prize, and The Adventures of Amos 'n' Andy: A Social History of an American Phenomenon. Ely is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Humanities and Professor of History at the College of William & Mary, having earlier taught history and African American studies at Yale. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

This biography was last updated on 04/14/2026.

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