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The first published novel by a black American author combines real-life stories, including his own story of escaping slavery and recollections he heard while helping others escape, with abolitionist agitprop, revealing ephemera from the newspapers of the time, and sympathetic (if somewhat melodramatic) characters. What emerges from this collage is an indictment of slavery and of American hypocrisy about liberty that found an enthusiastic and enraged audience when it was published in 1853.
Clotel has a complex publishing history, with four separate editions published between 1853 and 1867. These editions contain huge differences in characters and plotting, so much so that they might each be considered separate novels in their own right. This edition is based on the first edition of 1853.
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Subjects
African American families, African American women, Children of presidents, Fiction, Illegitimate children, Racially mixed people, Relations with women, Women slaves, Illegitimate children in fiction, Southern States in fiction, Women slaves in fiction, Jefferson, Thomas, in fiction, African American families in fiction, African American women in fiction, Slavery in fiction, Slavery, Children of presidents in fiction, Racially mixed people in fiction, Fiction, historical, Slaves, fiction, Presidents, united states, fiction, Fiction, historical, general, African americans, fiction, Presidents, fiction, Fiction, general, Afro-American women, Familles noires américaines, Romans, nouvelles, Enfants de présidents, Noires américaines, Enfants naturels, Femmes esclaves, Enslaved persons, fiction, Classic Literature, Slaves, united states, Fiction, family life, Fiction, african american, general, Relations with womenjefferson, thomas , 1743-1826, Brown, william wells , 1814?-1884, Hemings, sally, Children of presidents--fiction, African american families--fiction, Racially mixed people--fiction, African american women--fiction, Women slaves--fiction, Slavery--virginia--fiction, Ps1139.b9 c53 2011, 813.4, Ht 3903, Ms 3450People
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), William Wells Brown (1815-1884), William Wells Brown (1814?-1884)Places
Southern States, United StatesShowing 5 featured editions. View all 109 editions?
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Clotel; or, the President's Daughter
2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
in English
1515344819 9781515344810
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Clotel, or, The president's daughter
2000, Modern Library
in English
- 2000 Modern Library pbk. ed. / introduction by Hilton Als ; notes by Graham Hodges.
0679783237 9780679783237
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Clotel, or, The president's daughter: a narrative of slave life in the United States
2000, Bedford/St. Martin's
in English
0312152655 9780312152659
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Work Description
William Wells Brown's Clotel or, The President's Daughter is often considered the first novel an African-American. When the book was published, Brown himself was legally the property of someone else within the United States, having escaped from slavery in Kentucky when he was younger. In the story President Thomas Jefferson and his former mulatto mistress Currer have had two daughters together: Althesea and Clotel. When their master passes away, their relatively comfortable lives are swept away and Currer and Althesea are bought by the harsh slave trader Dick Walker.
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September 26, 2023 | Edited by bitnapper | Merge works (MRID: 81694) |
June 19, 2023 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
February 9, 2022 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from standard_ebooks:william-wells-brown record |