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Title: The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts, Henry Louis Gates Jr. ISBN: 0-446-69029-5 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.94 (33 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Unique and Unprecedented
Comment: "The Bondwoman's Narrative" is an unprecedented literary event. This manuscript, recently discovered by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the only known novel to have been written by an African American slave. It might possibly be the first manuscript to have been written by a black woman...anywhere. Not only is the narrative unprecedented, it is a suspenseful and engrossing account of a young slave who "passes" for white in her attempt to find her way to freedom.
The bondwoman is Hannah Crafts, a mulatto and a slave, who wrote her story as an autobiographical novel. Hannah Crafts was not uneducated, she was self-educated. And, as anyone familiar with world literature will realize, Hannah Crafts, may have been very well educated, indeed. As we read her story, written in an effusive style, we realize that she was well aware of the limitations and injustices society inflicted on persons of color in 19th century America. What she didn't realize is that the freedom and life of the plantation's mistress is soon to be in as much peril as is her own and that their destinies will intertwine. Is Hannah Crafts story an autobiographical rendition or is it a flight of fancy, albeit a very good flight of fancy? I think it is up to each individual reader to judge.
"The Bondwoman's Narrative" really doesn't tell us anything new about the times in which Hannah Crafts lived. It's significance lies not in the facts it presents (although they are interesting), but in its historical value. The fact that this is, quite probably, the first narrative to have been written by a black woman makes "The Bondwoman's Narrative" unique and unprecedented and a true literary event.
Almost as interesting as the story of Hannah, herself, is Professor Gates' introduction in which he details his own search for the real Hannah Crafts and the true facts of her life.
Although the details in this book are details we have read before, perhaps several times before, we have not read them as presented by Hannah Crafts. The experience of slavery was important in shaping the character of America and, because of this importance, Hannah Crafts' voice is a voice that should be heard. I don't think anyone who reads this unique and sometimes very lovely book, will ever regret it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic--Don't skip the introduction!!!
Comment: This book is worth buying to read about Gates' research efforts alone! You will be moved along the rollercoaster ride of snowballing excitement as Gates moves from first reading about the handwritten narrative in an auction catalog to authenticating the narrative to publshing the it as this book. Gates devotes the sixty page-plus introduction to his research and the appendices include the narrative's authentication report, the catalog of Hannah's owner's library(containing books from which Hannah borrowed plot elements), and testimony from another female slave that escaped Hannah's owner as well (Hannah mentions her in the narrative).
While some might feel the novel may seem un-original because of Hannah's "borrowing" from literature of her time, I found the book a pleasure to read. Historian/bibliographer Dorothy Porter Wesley (the narrative came from her library) concluded early on that the narrative was by a black woman because the black characters were treated as people first of all AND that some time would pass in the story before it was evident that a character was black at all. Long used to novels (from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Gone with the Wind) where authors, usually white, took immense pains to point out the literal blackness and lowliness of negroes, Hannah's assumed humanity and ordinariness of her black characters is refreshingly different.
Though some punctuation has been added to aid reading (major changes are bracketed to let you know where), Gates left in Hannah's mispellings, strikeouts and other revisions to keep the narrative as close to the handwritten manuscript as possbile. Overall, this book's an engrossing read from start to finish and I'm now looking for some of Gates' other literary finds to read.
Rating: 5
Summary: An enthralling legacy
Comment: Written in the 1850s by Hannah Crafts and edited for a modern readership by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Bondwoman's Narrative is the only known novel authored by a female African American slave, and perhaps the first novel ever written by a black woman. Describing the story of "passing" as a young slave treks toward freedom, The Bondwoman's Narrative is an enthralling legacy which is especially recommended for university African-American literature collections and community library large print fiction shelves.
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Title: The Classic Slave Narratives by Henry Louis, Jr. Gates ISBN: 0451528247 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs ISBN: 0486419312 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 09 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives by Henry L. Spencer/Gates Crew, Spencer Crew, Cynthia Goodman ISBN: 0821228420 Publisher: Bulfinch Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Clotel : or, The President's Daughter by Hilton Als, William W. Brown, Als Hilton ISBN: 0679783237 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Our Nig : or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson ISBN: 1400031206 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 16 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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