Synopses & Reviews
The autobiographies of former slaves contributed powerfully to the abolitionist movement in the United States, fanning national--even international--indignation against the evils of slavery. The four texts gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth century. The writings of Moses Roper (1838), Lunsford Lane (1842), Moses Grandy (1843), and the Reverend Thomas H. Jones (1854) provide a moving testament to the struggles of enslaved people to affirm their human dignity and ultimately seize their liberty.
Introductions to each narrative provide biographical and historical information as well as explanatory notes. Andrews's general introduction to the collection reveals that these narratives not only helped energize the abolitionist movement but also laid the groundwork for an African American literary tradition that inspired such novelists as Toni Morrison and Charles Johnson.
Review
"For those who want to get some idea of what slavery in the South was like before the Civil War, this is the book. . . . a compelling and hugely informative view of a time and an ethos that we can never forget."
Kliatt
Synopsis
The four texts gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth century. Introductions to each narrative provide biographical and historical information as well as explanatory notes.
About the Author
William L. Andrews is E. Maynard Adams Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Literary Career of Charles W. Chesnutt and To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 1760-1865.David A. Davis has earned a graduate degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Tampathia Evans has earned a graduate degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Ian Frederick Finseth has earned a graduate degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Andrea N. Williams has earned a graduate degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Table of Contents
General Introduction
A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper
The Narrative of Lunsford Lane
Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy
The Experience of Rev. Thomas H. Jones