Slave Narratives: James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, Olaudah Equiano, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Henry Bibb, Sojourner Truth, William and Ellen Craft, Harriet A. Jacobs, Jacob D. Green (Library of America) Book

The Voices Of American Slaves In The Library Of America

This book in the Library of America series is a collection of ten narratives that document the nature of American slavery from colonial times to the eve of the Civil War. The volume includes some familiar narratives, particularly the first and best-known of Frederick Douglass' autobiographies written in 1843, the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave". Douglass has a volume of his own in the Library of America. Many of the other narratives in this volume were new to me.

The book includes two writers from the colonial period, a short account by James Gronniosaw and a longer narrative by Olaudiah Equiano. The latter book has a first-hand description of the notorious "middle passage" -- the transatlantic journey by which Africans were transported to a life of bondage in the New World. This book also features accounts of life at sea during the mid-18th century that reminded me of Patrick O'Brian's novels of sea life during the Napoleonic era.

The collection includes two narratives by women. Sojourner Truth's "Narrative of Sojourner Truth", as told to a woman named Olive Gilbert, appeared in 1850. It tells the story of slavery in New York State (where it was not abolished until 1827) and introduces a strong-willed woman who combined abolitionism with strong religious passion and a commitment to woman's rights. Harriet Jacobs's account, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" was published in 1861. Written in a Victorian style, it still tells the story of the trials of a young woman who resisted her master's advances and hid for seven years in a narrow attic before escaping to freedom.

"The Confessions of Nat Turner" became the basis of a controversial novel by William Styron. It is an account recorded by a local attorney, Thomas Gray, of Turner's description, while in jail waiting execution, of the slave rebellion he led in Virginia in 1831. This is a spare account but to me much more impressive than what I remember of Styron's novel.

Henry Bibb's 1849 "Narrative of the Live and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave" describes several escapes, and a slave prison of almost unbelievable cruelty in Louisville, Kentucky. I found Bibb's extended narrative perhaps the most riveting work in this collection.

Jacob Green's 1864 "Narrative of the Life of J.D. Green: A Runaway Slave from Kentucky" is short and tough-minded book. It shows a person who was not afraid to fight back.

The narrative by William and Ellen Craft "Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom" (1860) describes how a husband and wife disguised themselves to make a 1000 mile journey from Georgia to freedom. Most escapes occurred from the border states. Although easier than an escape from the deep South, escapes from even the border states were extraordinarily difficult.

William Wells Brown, like Douglass, went on to a literary career after his escape from slavery. He was the author of the first published African American novel, "Clotel". Brown also has a LOA volume devoted to has writings. His narrative, "A Fugitive Slave: Written by Himself" (1847) is short but documents convincingly his escape from slavery in Missouri.

This collection will help the reader understand the nature of slavery in the United States from its beginning to its end. The volume is part of the Library of America's admirable attempt to produce uniform series of the best in American literature, thought and history. The narratives of American slaves included in this book amply deserve their place in a series that documents the American experience.

Robin Friedman