The Confessions of Nat Turner is a 1968 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by American writer William Styron. Presented as a first-person narrative by historical figure Nat Turner, the novel concerns Nat Turner's Rebellion in Virginia in 1831. It is a fictional retelling based on The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia, a first-hand account of Turner's confessions published by a local lawyer, Thomas R. Gray, in 1831. Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

Historical background

The novel is based on an extant document, Turner's "confession" to his white lawyer, Thomas R. Gray. In the historical confessions, Turner claims to have been divinely inspired. Some scholars believe that mental illness may have driven Turner's actions. Others believe Turner was moved by religiosity.