Collected here in this omnibus edition are three influential autobiographies of prominent women whose rose up from slavery to greatness. Essential reading for anyone interested in African American Heritage. Included are Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth, and The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave by Mary Prince. Slavery is a terrible thing, but it is far more terrible and harrowing for women than for men. Harriet Jacobs was owned by a brutal master who beat his slaves regularly and subjected them to indignations that were far worse. Jacobs eventually escaped her master and moved to a northern state. Though she was unable to take her children with her at the time they were later reunited. Read her powerful and compelling story. Sojourner Truth transformed herself from a runaway slave into a well-known campaigner for abolition and women's rights. Her dedication to her principles and her fiery speaking style electrified the abolition movement and brought her fame. This is an extraordinary story about the triumph of an extraordinary women Mary Prince was the first woman slave to write of her experience. Her recollections are vivid, powerful, and lyrical. Upon its publication the book had a galvanizing effect on the abolitionist movement in England.

Mary Prince was the first woman slave to write of her experience. Her recollections are vivid, powerful, and lyrical. Upon its publication the book had a galvanizing effect on the abolitionist movement in England.

One of the most significant developments in current literary studies is the rediscovery and reevaluation of texts by British writers of African descent. This volume combines popular texts with hard-to-find selections in a format that enables students to place them in their historical and cultural contexts. For instructors, the collection offers reliable texts, stimulating context pieces, and the most useful modern critical essays. The book is divided into four sections: Narratives, Poetry, Voices (letters), and Criticism. Native African and African-heritage authors living in Great Britain and British colonies include Ukawasaw Gronniosaw, an African prince; John Jea, a preacher; Mary Prince, a slave living in the West Indies; and Juan Francisco Manzano, a slave living in Cuba.

Three accounts of the lives of famous slaves
This unique Leonaur book brings together three remarkable accounts of slavery and escapes to freedom by African women and men in the United States and West Indies during the 19th century. The first account, written by William and Ellen Craft, recounts the incredible and epic escape by a husband and wife who, recognising that Mrs. Craft was so pale skinned that she could pass for a person of European origin, devised the innovative plan of posing as a young male planter master and his slave. The second story, that of Bermudan born Mary Prince, is notable because hers was the first personal account written by a female negro slave ever to be published in Britain. The third and final account by Solomon Northup, has now become famous again because his experiences have been turned into a highly regarded motion picture. Northup was born a free man, happily married with children and working and owning property in Saratoga Springs, New York. During a visit to Washington he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery on a Southern plantation which he endured, despite repeated escape attempts, for twelve years before regaining the liberty that had been taken from him.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

The first black woman to escape from slavery in the British colonies and publish a record of her experiences, Prince vividly recalls her life in the West Indies, her rebellion against physical and psychological degradation, and her 1828 escape in England. A straightforward, often poetic account of a struggle for freedom.

'I have been a slave - I have felt what a slave feels, and I know what a slave knows ...'

Mary Prince recalls that in the slave market in Bermuda, where she was put up for sale, the buyers' talk 'fell like cayenne pepper into the fresh wounds of our hearts'. During her life as a slave she was taken from Bermuda to Turks Island and Antigua, eventually arriving in London where, in 1828, she reported the cruelty of her master and mistress to the Anti-Slavery Society.

The History of Mary Prince (1831) was the first life of a black woman to be published in Britain. This extraordinary testament of ill-treatment and survival was a protest and a rallying-cry for emancipation that provoked two libel actions and ran into three editions in the year of its publication.

This edition includes an introduction which discusses The History within the context of black writing, explanatory notes, a chronology, and supplementary material on enslavement and the case of Mary Prince.

Marie Prince possesses Bachelor and Masters of Arts Degrees from the S.U.N.Y., College at Buffalo, majoring in English Secondary Education and minoring in Art. She worked for many years in social services, helping individuals in Western New York to prepare for, and obtain, gainful employment. Since 2005 she has devoted her energy fulltime to artistic endeavours. She enjoys painting with acrylics and adding "found objects" to create the final work. Her objective is to tell a story that stimulates the viewer's imagination. Her latest project is a series of 43 collages, created to commemorate the achievements of each of the 43 men who have attained our nation's highest office. The effort took over a year to complete, with the artist approaching each piece with the reverence and integrity befitting our illustrious line of presidents.

Born in Bermuda in the late 18th century, Mary Prince was a Black woman who survived enslavement in the colonial world of the Caribbean. She orally told her story to a third party, who transcribed it. First published in England in 1831, "The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave" is one of the most important narratives of the slave experience in the Americas. This book describes in detail the reality of the slave experience: the dehumanization of Black people, the moral degradation of their masters, and the ever-present violence. Prince's story is also an important early defense of the humanity of people of African descent. She notes that slave masters "think that black people are like cattle, without natural affection. But my heart tells me it is far otherwise." Prince tells of her labor in the salt ponds of Turk's Island, her conflict with a hired mulatto woman, her spiritual life in the Moravian Church, and many other topics. Ultimately, she celebrates the desire and hope for freedom: "All slaves want to be free." While "The History of Mary Prince" does not quite attain the level of literary craftsmanship and psychological complexity as slave narratives by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, it is still a powerful, authoritative, and important human testament. Mary Prince declares, "I have been a slave--I have felt what a slave feels, and I know what a slave knows." We of later centuries need to hear her words.

Three accounts of the lives of famous slaves
This unique Leonaur book brings together three remarkable accounts of slavery and escapes to freedom by African women and men in the United States and West Indies during the 19th century. The first account, written by William and Ellen Craft, recounts the incredible and epic escape by a husband and wife who, recognising that Mrs. Craft was so pale skinned that she could pass for a person of European origin, devised the innovative plan of posing as a young male planter master and his slave. The second story, that of Bermudan born Mary Prince, is notable because hers was the first personal account written by a female negro slave ever to be published in Britain. The third and final account by Solomon Northup, has now become famous again because his experiences have been turned into a highly regarded motion picture. Northup was born a free man, happily married with children and working and owning property in Saratoga Springs, New York. During a visit to Washington he was drugged, kidnapped and sold into slavery on a Southern plantation which he endured, despite repeated escape attempts, for twelve years before regaining the liberty that had been taken from him.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.