Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass encompasses eleven chapters that recount Douglass's life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist of the early 19th century in the United States.

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man. Born into slavery during the early nineteenth century, Frederick Douglass escaped to freedom before he was twenty-one years old. From the moment he arrived in New York City, he felt a need to tell his story, one that mirrored so many people still enslaved in the South with no hope of escape. As an orator and preacher, Douglass was an abolitionist, supporter of women's suffrage and staunch defender of equality for all. In his first autobiographical work, published in 1845, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass describes how he went from slave to a free man.

"We've railed against injustice for decade upon decade, a lifetime of struggle and progress and enlightenment that we see etched in Fredrick Douglass's mighty, leonine gaze." -Barack Obama "My Bondage and my Freedom, besides giving a fresh impulse to antislavery literature, shows upon its pages the untiring industry of the ripe scholar."-William Wells Brown My Bondage and my Freedom (1845), a classic of American History writing and one of the most influential and ennobling autobiographies ever written, was composed while Fredrick Douglas was at his heights as an orator and writer. At the time of writing, Douglass had also reached the pinnacle of his work as a leader in the abolitionist movement and as an influential newspaper publisher. This incisive and eloquent book is at once an extraordinary story of resilience and a meditation on power, education, and freedom. The depictions of Fredrick Douglass's early life on a Maryland slave plantation, the series of relocations and abuses under various overseers, and his eventual freedom are an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the United States leading up to the beginning of the Civil War. My Bondage and my Freedom is a brilliant account of a singular life and as well as a scathing reproach to one of the darkest episodes of American history. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of My Bondage and my Freedom is both modern and readable.

Frederick Douglass' 1845 Narrative is accompanied by a preface and explanatory footnotes. Included are contemporary perspectives, along with essays, a chronology and bibliography.

First appearing in 1845 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, with its painfully vivid depiction of life in bondage, was both a bestseller in its day and one of the most powerful, authoritative texts lending support to the abolitionist movement. The author traces his life from an infant born into slavery and taken from his mother at birth, to a displaced child hungry for knowledge, to an abused and beaten laborer seeking freedom and a chance to marry the woman he loved. Offering bright, cameo glimpses into a world that should not be forgotten, Douglass chronicles both the cruel violence of a system that saw him as little more than livestock, and the brighter moments of success, of courageous support from friends and allies. Initially greeted by some with doubt that it could have been written by a black man and former slave, the book had a profound effect on American society, making the author something of a celebrity and his cause less an abstract ideal and more of an urgent human concern. Solemn, powerful and passionate The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is more than an important historical document-it is a personal account of striving for human freedom in a world where the author was regarded as neither free nor human. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is both modern and readable.

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (1852) is a novella by Frederick Douglass. Having escaped from slavery in the South at a young age, Frederick Douglass became a prominent orator and autobiographer who spearheaded the American abolitionist movement in the mid-nineteenth century. In this famous speech, published widely in pamphlet form after it was given to a meeting of the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society on July 5th, 1852, Douglass exposes the hypocrisy of America's claim to Christian and democratic ideals in spite of its legacy of enslavement. Personal and political, Douglass' speech helped inspire the burgeoning abolitionist movement, which fought tirelessly for emancipation in the decades leading up to the American Civil War. "What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?...What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." Drawing upon his own experiences as an escaped slave, Douglass offers a critique of American independence from the perspective of those who had never been free within its borders. Hopeful and courageous, Douglass' voice remains an essential part of our history, reminding us time and again who we are, who we have been, and what we can be as a nation. While much of his radical message has been smoothed over through the passage of time, its revolutionary truth continues to resonate today. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Frederick Douglass' What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

First appearing in 1845 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, with its painfully vivid depiction of life in bondage, was both a bestseller in its day and one of the most powerful, authoritative texts lending support to the abolitionist movement. The author traces his life from an infant born into slavery and taken from his mother at birth, to a displaced child hungry for knowledge, to an abused and beaten laborer seeking freedom and a chance to marry the woman he loved. Offering bright, cameo glimpses into a world that should not be forgotten, Douglass chronicles both the cruel violence of a system that saw him as little more than livestock, and the brighter moments of success, of courageous support from friends and allies. Initially greeted by some with doubt that it could have been written by a black man and former slave, the book had a profound effect on American society, making the author something of a celebrity and his cause less an abstract ideal and more of an urgent human concern. Solemn, powerful and passionate The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is more than an important historical document-it is a personal account of striving for human freedom in a world where the author was regarded as neither free nor human. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is both modern and readable.

The Heroic Slave (1852) is a novella by Frederick Douglass. Although he is more frequently recognized as prominent orator and autobiographer who spearheaded the American abolitionist movement, Douglass published one work of fiction in his lifetime. Inspired by the 1841 Creole case, in which an enslaved cook and a crew of nineteen fellow-slaves led a rebellion onboard a ship bound from Virginia to New Orleans, The Heroic Slave seeks to highlight the bravery and autonomy of fugitives and revolutionaries who did what they could to help themselves in the absence of help from their country. Sitting down for dinner, Mr. Listwell, a white southerner, is interrupted by a knock at the door. He opens it to find Madison Washington, a fugitive slave who disappeared without a trace five years prior. Hesitant at first, Listwell agrees to hear the man out, and learns that rather than escape to the north, Washington remained behind to be near his wife and children, hiding in the wilderness the whole time. Moved by his tragic story, Listwell provides him clothes and supplies, and encourages him to head for Canada. Sometime later, he sees a slave gang headed for market, and identifies Washington in chains. Before they part ways once more, perhaps forever, Listwell purchases a set of files and manages to get them to Washington, who remains determined to fight for his freedom until the bitter end. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Frederick Douglass' The Heroic Slave is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

"We've railed against injustice for decade upon decade, a lifetime of struggle and progress and enlightenment that we see etched in Fredrick Douglass's mighty, leonine gaze." -Barack Obama "My Bondage and my Freedom, besides giving a fresh impulse to antislavery literature, shows upon its pages the untiring industry of the ripe scholar."-William Wells Brown My Bondage and my Freedom (1845), a classic of American History writing and one of the most influential and ennobling autobiographies ever written, was composed while Fredrick Douglas was at his heights as an orator and writer. At the time of writing, Douglass had also reached the pinnacle of his work as a leader in the abolitionist movement and as an influential newspaper publisher. This incisive and eloquent book is at once an extraordinary story of resilience and a meditation on power, education, and freedom. The depictions of Fredrick Douglass's early life on a Maryland slave plantation, the series of relocations and abuses under various overseers, and his eventual freedom are an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the United States leading up to the beginning of the Civil War. My Bondage and my Freedom is a brilliant account of a singular life and as well as a scathing reproach to one of the darkest episodes of American history. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of My Bondage and my Freedom is both modern and readable.