Clotel: or, The President's Daughter

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Penguin, 30 de dez. de 2003 - 320 páginas
First published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. The story begins with the auction of his mistress, here called Currer, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. The Virginian who buys Clotel falls in love with her, gets her pregnant, seems to promise marriage—then sells her. Escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returns to Virginia disguised as a white man in order to rescue her daughter, Mary, a slave in her father’s house. A fast-paced and harrowing tale of slavery and freedom, of the hypocrisies of a nation founded on democratic principles, Clotel is more than a sensationalist novel. It is a founding text of the African American novelistic tradition, a brilliantly composed and richly detailed exploration of human relations in a new world in which race is a cultural construct.

   • First time in Penguin Classics
   • Includes appendices that show the different endings Brown created for the various later versions of Clotel, along with the author's narrative of his "Life and Escape," Introduction, suggested readings, and comprehensive explanatory notes
 

Páginas selecionadas

Conteúdo

The Negro Sale
43
Going to the South
52
The Negro Chase
59
The Quadroons Home
64
The Slave Market
67
The Religious Teacher
71
The Poor Whites South
83
The Separation
88
The Liberator
132
Escape of Clotel
139
A True Democrat
151
The Christians Death
155
A Ride in a StageCoach
161
Truth Stranger than Fiction
172
The Arrest
178
Death Is Freedom
183

The Man of Honour
92
The Young Christian
94
The Parson Poet
101
A Night in the Parsons Kitchen
105
A Slave Hunting Parson
110
A Free Woman Reduced to Slavery
116
ToDay a Mistress ToMorrow a Slave
120
Death of the Parson
123
Retaliation
129
The Escape
188
The Mystery
197
The Happy Meeting
200
Conclusion
208
From Miralda or The Beautiful Quadroon 18601861
211
From Clotelle A Tale of the Southern States 1864
226
From Clotelle or The Colored Heroine A Tale of the Southern States 1867
236
Explanatory Notes
249
Direitos autorais

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Sobre o autor (2003)

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) was born a slave, escaped to the North and then to England, and became one of the most prominent abolitionists of his time. During his prolific literary career, Brown was a pioneer in several different genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama.

M. Giulia Fabi is the author of Passing and the Rise of the African American Novel. She teaches American literature at the University of Ferrara, Italy.

Informações bibliográficas