Fans of mystery drama have been anticipating the release of Black Cake, an ambitious and gripping 2023 series that follows the harrowing story of Covey, a girl from the Caribbean who escapes to England after becoming a person of interest in a murder inquiry. The twisting narrative begins in the 1960s, slowly revealing the secrets and tragedies the characters are embroiled in. Black Cake looks set to be a winner for Hulu, igniting interest in the story’s origins as both a novel and potentially a true story. But is the narrative grounded in fact, or purely a work of fiction?
We’re going to tell you, but beware that this article may contain some spoilers for the book and thus the series.
Is Black Cake based on a true story?
Black Cake is not a true story, but the Oprah Winfrey-produced TV series is an adaptation of a novel. The book of the same name was written by Charmaine Wilkerson, and became a New York Times best-seller, leading to huge interest in the property. A film or TV series was always on the cards.
The novel was Wilkerson’s first novel, released in 2022, although she had written short stories previously. It remains her only novel to date, though in 2023 she did contribute the short story Deluge to the Good Intentions, an Amazon-backed collection of bestselling authors writing about motherhood.
Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake | Image via David Levenson/Getty
Is Black Cake fiction or nonfiction?
Black Cake is a work of fiction.
The book reveals a complex narrative that explores the story over different periods, leading to an ambitious tale, told from many perspectives, and involving mystery, murder, crime, relationships, family, heartbreak, and betrayal.
What island is Black Cake based on?
Although the Caribbean island in the book isn’t named, it is not difficult to see it is most likely to be Jamaica. The book mentions the Jamaican parish of Portland, a real parish, suggesting Jamaica was always in mind for the location, and other details such as the political history of the island also support the idea of it being Jamaica — or at least a fictional island culturally and politically similar enough to Jamaica that the distinction is unimportant.
The Hulu series has made this light mystery even more clear. The official synopsis reads, “The story takes place in Jamaica, Italy, Scotland, England, and Southern California.” The synopsis of the first episode on IMDb reiterates: “In the late 1960s, a runaway bride named Covey disappears into the surf off the coast of Jamaica.”
What is Black Cake in the series?
As the name suggests, the Black Cake of the title is literally a cake.
Unlike the storyline, the cake is real, a decadent and traditional rum-based fruitcake. In the novel, when Eleanor Bennett dies, she leaves her adult children a USB drive containing stories of her life, a note, and a black cake in the freezer. “I want you to sit down and share the cake together when the time is right,” Eleanor’s note reads. “You’ll know when.”
An article from My Forking Life with Tanya Harris reveals, “This rich and moist Jamaican Black Cake is the centerpiece dessert that’s perfect for any holiday or celebration. Black Cake, also known as rum cake, Christmas cake, and wedding cake, depending on when it’s served, is a staple dessert recipe in all of the Caribbean.”
In an interview with Eater, Wilkerson revealed how Black Cake not only inspired the story of the book, but also factors in as a plot point and contains the real grain of truth in the story’s narrative.
“That’s when I realized,” she says, “That’s it. This is a novel, it’s multigenerational, and I can see a great deal of symbolism tied to this cake.”
She continues, “Even though this is a fictional story — not autobiographical, wildly inventive — the emotions and ideas of transferring culture and stories through food, that’s a real thing.”
RELATED: Where was Black Cake filmed?
