Witnessing Slavery: The Development of Ante-Bellum Slave Narratives

Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography

by Frances Smith Foster

Frances Foster's classic study of pre-Civil War American slave autobiography is now issued in an accessible paperback edition. The first book to represent these slave narratives as literary in the complete sense of the word, and the first study to call attention to the significance of gender in the narratives, Witnessing Slavery will be welcomed by both general readers and students of the American south, slavery, the Civil War, and race issues.

Genres: History

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 1979

About the author

Frances Smith Foster is an American researcher and emeritus Professor of African-American studies and women's history. She has previously served as the Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women's Studies at Emory University.

Reviews

[Valerie]

A very useful and detailed account of slave narratives written in the 18th and 19th century.