Corregidora is Gayl Jones's classic novel: the tale of a blues singer Ursa, consumed by her hatred of the nineteenth-century slave master who fathered both her grand-mother and mother. This is a highly impactive novel wrought with sexual tensions and taboo family secrets. The narrative is interspersed with elliptical stories and memories that bring intense emotions to the surface of the reader's consciousness.

"[Corregidora is] a fiercely concentrated story, harsh and perfectly told....Original, superbly imagined, nothing about the book is simple or easily digested....Gayl Jones has presented problems that are living, historical and important additions to the current American—not just black—scene. Her novels are genuinely imaginative creations." —Darryl Pinkney, The New Republic