The Autobiographical Writings of William Wells Brown (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: William Wells Brown
- First Published: 1847
- Type of Work: Two autobiographies
- Time of Work: 1815–1852
- Setting: The United States and Europe
- Principal Characters: William Wells Brown, Dr. John Young, Elijah P. Lovejoy, James Walker, Wells Brown, William Wells Brown, Victor Hugo, Richard Cobden, Alexis de Tocqueville, Alexander Crummell, Joseph Jenkins, Harriet Martineau, William
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: African Americans, Freedom, Traveling or travelers, Social reform, Abolitionists, Authors or writers, Escapes, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves
- Locales: Europe, United States
Form and Content
Narrative of William Wells Brown, A Fugitive Slave chronicles William Wells Brown’s life as a slave from his birth in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1815 until his escape from Missouri to Ohio and freedom in 1834. It concludes with brief comments about Brown’s life in Cleveland and in Buffalo, New York, until 1843, when Brown became a traveling agent for the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society.
The genesis of Brown’s narrative and the purpose it was meant to serve shed light on both its form and content. The text proper represented the fleshing...
[The entire page is 2841 words long]
