Night Journeys was published by Pantheon Books in 1979. Set in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1768, the novel follows Peter York, a twelve-year-old orphan living with a Quaker family. When two indentured servants — children who have been bound to labor through the colonial indenture system — escape and flee through the area, Peter must decide whether to help them or to turn them in, as the law requires. The decision tests the Quaker community’s commitment to its own principles of justice and compassion.
The novel was one of Avi’s first historical works for young readers and established his abiding interest in moral choice under pressure — the moment when abstract principles collide with concrete consequences.
Collecting Night Journeys
First edition (Pantheon Books, New York, 1979): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- Fine in dust jacket: $30–$75
- Very good: $10–$30
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. Avi’s early historical fiction.
The Quaker Dilemma
Set in 1768 Pennsylvania, the novel follows Peter York, a twelve-year-old Quaker boy, who must decide whether to help two runaway indentured servants — bound children who are technically property under colonial law. Peter’s Quaker faith teaches him that all people are equal before God, but the law says the runaways must be returned. Avi uses the historical dilemma to explore a question that recurs throughout American history: when moral conscience and legal obligation conflict, which must yield?
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Avi’s themes? Across his vast body of work, Avi returns consistently to several themes: the courage required to think independently, the conflict between individual conscience and institutional authority, the discovery of identity through crisis, and the question of what it means to tell the truth. These themes appear whether the setting is medieval England, colonial America, or contemporary suburbia.