The Garies and Their Friends (1857) is a novel by Frank J. Webb. Published at the height of the abolitionist movement, Webb's novel was only the second in history by an African American writer. Although it is his only novel, The Garies and Their Friends is a testament to Webb's skills as a writer and political thinker, a man who explored themes of racial passing and Northern racism decades before such topics were common in African American literature. Although his novel was relatively unpopular-perhaps due to his refusal to sentimentalize both Northern white and free Black communities-it gained scholarly attention and critical acclaim in the latter half of the twentieth century, and has since been recognized as a significant work of African American fiction. Clarence Garie, a white planter from Georgia, and his common-law wife Emily, raise their two children together with the acceptance of a Southern community accustomed to such relationships between masters and slaves. Fearing what should happen to her and her children if Clarence were to die, Emily persuades her husband to move their family to Philadelphia, where they hope to be accepted by the city's well-established community of free African Americans. When they get there, however, they encounter prejudice from their neighbors as well as the growing Irish immigrant population. Together with their friends the Ellises, the Garie family becomes the target of vicious attacks by George Stevens, a bigoted attorney looking to incite a race riot in the city. Soon, tragedy strikes, exposing the deep-rooted divides of a nation only a few years away from civil war. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Frank J. Webb's The Garies and Their Friends is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

The Garies and Their Friends (1857) is a novel by Frank J. Webb. Published at the height of the abolitionist movement, Webb's novel was only the second in history by an African American writer. Although it is his only novel, The Garies and Their Friends is a testament to Webb's skills as a writer and political thinker, a man who explored themes of racial passing and Northern racism decades before such topics were common in African American literature. Although his novel was relatively unpopular-perhaps due to his refusal to sentimentalize both Northern white and free Black communities-it gained scholarly attention and critical acclaim in the latter half of the twentieth century, and has since been recognized as a significant work of African American fiction. Clarence Garie, a white planter from Georgia, and his common-law wife Emily, raise their two children together with the acceptance of a Southern community accustomed to such relationships between masters and slaves. Fearing what should happen to her and her children if Clarence were to die, Emily persuades her husband to move their family to Philadelphia, where they hope to be accepted by the city's well-established community of free African Americans. When they get there, however, they encounter prejudice from their neighbors as well as the growing Irish immigrant population. Together with their friends the Ellises, the Garie family becomes the target of vicious attacks by George Stevens, a bigoted attorney looking to incite a race riot in the city. Soon, tragedy strikes, exposing the deep-rooted divides of a nation only a few years away from civil war. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Frank J. Webb's The Garies and Their Friends is a classic work of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Unjustly overlooked in its own time, Frank J. Webb's novel of pre-Civil War Philadelphia weaves together action, humor, and social commentary. The Garies and Their Friends tells the story of two families struggling for di| erent sorts of respectability: the Garies, a well-to-do interracial couple who relocate to Philadelphia from the plantation South in order to legalize their marriage, and their friends the Ellises, free black Philadelphians hoping to make the move from the working class into the bourgeoisie. Along the way the families confront racialized violence, melodramatic villainy, and sentimental reversals. Entertaining and fastmoving, the novel has a Dickensian mix of uncanny coincidence and interwoven personal experiences. The historical documents accompanying this Broadview Edition provide reviews of the novel along with extensive materials on slavery, the color line, and contemporary Philadelphia.

This book is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Mrs. Garie had determined not to be sea-sick upon any account whatever, being fully persuaded she could brave the ocean with impunity, and was, accordingly, very brisk and blithe-looking, as she walked up and down upon the deck of the vessel. In the course of a few hours they sailed out of the harbour, and were soon in the open sea. She began to find out how mistaken she had been, as unmistakable symptoms convinced her of the vanity of all human calculations. "Why, you are not going to be ill, Em, after all your valiant declarations " exclaimed Mr. Garie, supporting her unsteady steps, as they paced to and fro.

Mrs. Garie had determined not to be sea-sick upon any account whatever, being fully persuaded she could brave the ocean with impunity, and was, accordingly, very brisk and blithe-looking, as she walked up and down upon the deck of the vessel. In the course of a few hours they sailed out of the harbour, and were soon in the open sea. She began to find out how mistaken she had been, as unmistakable symptoms convinced her of the vanity of all human calculations. "Why, you are not going to be ill, Em, after all your valiant declarations!" exclaimed Mr. Garie, supporting her unsteady steps, as they paced to and fro.

The Garies and Their Friends was written in 1857 with a preface by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Frank Webb was a black man born in Philadelphia. Being one of the nearest free cities of any size to the slave territory, it was been a sanctuary for escaping fugitive or emancipated slaves. Mr. Garies was a slave-owning Southerner. His beloved wife was once a slave. They had two mixed-race children. To escape the racism of the South and the strict laws of Georgia prohibiting freedom for the children, the family moves to Philadelphia. They moved into a white neighborhood. Here they meet their remarkable "friends," including the middle-class and black Ellis family. They soon find out that Northern racism is different and equally dangerous. The wife next door is appalled by their new mixed-race neighbors, and her husband concocts a plot to rob the Garies of their wealth.

Mrs. Garie had determined not to be sea-sick upon any account whatever, being fully persuaded she could brave the ocean with impunity, and was, accordingly, very brisk and blithe-looking, as she walked up and down upon the deck of the vessel. In the course of a few hours they sailed out of the harbour, and were soon in the open sea. She began to find out how mistaken she had been, as unmistakable symptoms convinced her of the vanity of all human calculations. "Why, you are not going to be ill, Em, after all your valiant declarations " exclaimed Mr. Garie, supporting her unsteady steps, as they paced to and fro.

In this novel set in antebellum America, the Garies--a white southerner, his mulatto slave-turned-wife, and their two children--have moved to Philadelphia from Georgia.

Originally published in London in 1857, "The Garies and Their Friends" was the second novel published by an African American and the first to chronicle the experience of free blacks in the pre-Civil War northeast. The novel anticipates themes that were to become important in later African American fiction, including miscegenation and "passing," and tells the story of the Garies and their friends, the Ellises, a "highly respectable and industrious coloured family."

"It is remarkable that, even as the study of African American literature and culture has become central to any number of projects within American intellectual life, so little attention has been given a work as significant as Frank J. Webb's "The Garies and Their Friends.""--from the 1997 introduction by Robert Reid-Pharr