Harriet Beecher Stowe (Magill’s Literary Annual 1995)
At a glance:
- Author: Joan D. Hedrick
- First Published: 1994
- Type of Work: Biography
- Time of Work: 1811-1896
- Setting: The United States and Europe
- Principal Characters: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lyman Beecher, Catharine Beecher, Calvin Ellis Stowe
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: African Americans, Family or family life, Racism, Sexism, Gender roles, Authors or writers, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Feminism, Civil War, Death or dying, Calvinism
- Locales: Europe, United States
When most people hear the name Harriet Beecher Stowe, they think not of the woman herself but of her most famous creation, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (1851-1852). Nearly every American is familiar with this novel’s staunch abolitionist stance and the role it had in shaping the antebellum popular imagination. The blatant sentimentality of the book—its flagrantly emotional appeal to popular tastes—and its deft manipulation of stereotypes in its portrayal of African Americans have served to obscure Stowe’s achievements. Even Abraham Lincoln’s praise for...
[The entire page is 2145 words long]
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