First appearing in 1845 The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, with its painfully vivid depiction of life in bondage, was both a bestseller in its day and one of the most powerful, authoritative texts lending support to the abolitionist movement.

The author traces his life from an infant born into slavery and taken from his mother at birth, to a displaced child hungry for knowledge, to an abused and beaten laborer seeking freedom and a chance to marry the woman he loved. Offering bright, cameo glimpses into a world that should not be forgotten, Douglass chronicles both the cruel violence of a system that saw him as little more than livestock, and the brighter moments of success, of courageous support from friends and allies. Initially greeted by some with doubt that it could have been written by a black man and former slave, the book had a profound effect on American society, making the author something of a celebrity and his cause less an abstract ideal and more of an urgent human concern. Solemn, powerful and passionate The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is more than an important historical document-it is a personal account of striving for human freedom in a world where the author was regarded as neither free nor human.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is both modern and readable.

Douglass, Frederick

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) was an American born into slavery and kept in bondage until his escape at the age of 21. Once in free society his skill as an orator and author of powerful abolitionist material swiftly brought him renown. He wrote series of autobiographical works of which The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the first and offers the most detail of his life in bondage. Douglass's influence as an eloquent black speaker for the abolition of slavery is without peer and credited with awakening many to the extent and wretchedness of slavery in America.