The Travels of William Wells Brown: Including Narrative of William Wells Brown, a Fugitive Slave and the American Fugitive in Europe. Sketches of Pl

by William Wells Brown

AfrIcan American fugitive slave in Europe

235 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

About the author

William Wells Brown was a prominent African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North in 1834, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. His novel Clotel (1853) is considered the first novel written by an African American; it was published in London, where he was living at the time. Brown was a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama. He has a school named after him in Lexington, Kentucky and was among the first writers inducted to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Lecturing in England when the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law was passed in the US, which required people in the North to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, Brown stayed for several years to avoid the risk of capture and re-enslavement. After his freedom was purchased by a British couple in 1854, he and his family returned to the US, where he rejoined the abolitionist lecture circuit. A contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by the charismatic orator and the two feuded publicly.

Reviews

[cait · Rating 1 out of 5]

good topic, boring writing. just not a big fan of brown unfortunately :/

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is actually two separate books, a narrative and a memoir.

The narrative details his life in slavery and ends with his escape. It's good. And horrifying.

The memoir is boring and was a chore to read through. Mostly accounts of Brown's post-slavery hobnobbing in Europe.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

For class.