Three Great African-American Novels: The Heroic Slave, Clotel and Our Nig

Frederick Douglass · William Wells Brown · Harriet E. Wilson

Mar 2012 · Courier Corporation

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Written by three of the most prominent black writers of the nineteenth century, this trio of compelling early classics of African-American literature paints unforgettable portraits of strength and determination framed by the shackles of slavery. Abolitionist authors Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown, and spiritualist Harriet E. Wilson were former slaves whose writings transformed their hardships into stunning depictions of racial oppression.
Based on a true story, Frederick Douglass' The Heroic Slave is a dramatic fictional retelling of how the determined and courageous Madison Washington led a slave rebellion aboard the ship Creole. In Clotel, the first novel ever written by an African American, William Wells Brown tells a prophetic story about a child conceived by Thomas Jefferson and one of his slaves. And in Our Nig, Harriet E. Wilson's heartrending semi-autobiographical tale, she describes the life of a mulatto girl who, after the death of her mother, is exploited by a terrifying Northern family . . . and then, by the man she marries. Emotionally powerful and historically authentic, this collection is essential reading for students and teachers of African-American history and culture.

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Born a slave in Maryland in about 1817, Frederick Douglass never became accommodated to being held in bondage. He secretly learned to read, although slaves were prohibited from doing so. He fought back against a cruel slave-breaker and finally escaped to New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1838 at about the age of 21. Despite the danger of being sent back to his owner if discovered, Douglass became an agent and eloquent orator for the Massachusetts Antislavery Society. He lectured extensively in both England and the United States. As an ex-slave, his words had tremendous impact on his listeners. In 1845 Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which increased his fame. Concerned that he might be sent back to slavery, he went to Europe. He spent two years in England and Ireland speaking to antislavery groups. Douglass returned to the United States a free man and settled in Rochester, New York, where he founded a weekly newspaper, The North Star, in 1847. In the newspaper he wrote articles supporting the antislavery cause and the cause of human rights. He once wrote, "The lesson which [the American people] must learn, or neglect to do so at their own peril, is that Equal Manhood means Equal Rights, and further, that the American people must stand for each and all for each without respect to color or race." During the Civil War, Douglass worked for the Underground Railroad, the secret route of escape for slaves. He also helped recruit African-Americans soldiers for the Union army. After the war, he continued to write and to speak out against injustice. In addition to advocating education for freed slaves, he served in several government posts, including United States representative to Haiti. In 1855, a longer version of his autobiography appeared, and in 1895, the year of Douglass's death, a completed version was published. A best-seller in its own time, it has since become available in numerous editions and languages.