Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave; Written by Himself

by Frederick Douglass; Edited by John W. Blassingame, and Peter P. Hinks; Gerald Fulkerson, Textual Editor; James H. Cook, Victoria C. Gruber, and C. Jane Holtan,Editorial Assistants

• ISBN13: 9780300088311
• ISBN10: 0300088310
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2001-02-08
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In 1845, just seven years after his escape from slavery, the young Frederick Douglass published this powerful account of his life in bondage and his triumph over oppression. The book, which marked the beginning of Douglass's career as an impassioned writer, journalist, and orator for the abolitionist cause, reveals the terrors he faced as a slave, the brutalities of his owners and overseers, and his harrowing escape to the North. It has become a classic of American autobiography.

This edition of the book, based on the authoritative text that appears in Yale University Press's multivolume edition of the Frederick Douglass Papers, is the only edition of Douglass's Narrative designated as an Approved Text by the Modern Language Association's Committee on Scholarly Editions. It includes a chronology of Douglass's life, a thorough introduction by the eminent Douglass scholar John Blassingame, historical notes, and reader responses to the first edition of 1845

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	vi
Chronology	vii
Introduction	ix
Narrative	3	(84)
Historical Annotation	87	(36)
Reader Responses, 1845-49	123	(15)
Index	138