The Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave

by William Wells Brown

Brother, you have often declared that you would not end your days in slavery. I see no possible way in which you can escape with us; and now, brother, you are on a steamboat where there is some chance for you to escape to a land of liberty. I beseech you not to let us hinder you. If we cannot get our liberty, we do not wish to be the means of keeping you from a land of freedom.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir, African American, Race

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1847

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

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Wells Brown was a formidable figure in his day. A well known lecturer in the U.S. and Britain on the abolition of slavery (and women’s rights and temperance too), he was also a pioneering African-American novelist (Clotel), playwright (Experience, or How to Give a Northern Man a Backbone and The Escape; or, a Leap for Freedom), travel writer (Three Years in Europe), author of brief biographies (The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements), and an historian (The Negro and the American Revolution). Inspired by the autobiography of his friend—and rival in excellence—Frederick Douglass, he decided to write this account of his own early years: Narrative of William Wells Brown, A Fugitive Slave.

Although his autobiography lacks the eloquent rhetoric and astute observations that make Douglass’ book a classic, Brown compensates by pleasing his reader with a straightforward narrative style and the considerable breadth of his experience. In his early Kentucky years Brown learned to work a farm (and learned to endure the overseer’s whip as well), but later, when his owner moved to St. Louis, Brown was frequently hired out to work an astonishing number of jobs : tavern boy, hotel bellhop, steamboat servant, printer’s devil for the St. Louis Times (where he learned to write a little), and—most interesting of all—as the servant of a negro speculator or “soul-driver” as they were called, that is, the buyer and seller of slaves.

Like most slave narratives, Brown Narrative features instances of injustice that anger you, moments of pathos that move you to compassion, and an account of escape that will fill you with excitement and apprehension. But perhaps the best thing about Brown's book is the variety and specificity of Brown’s work experience. We learn more than a little of what it is like to be a slave by seeing the things a slave does, and it is this which makes Brown’s book uniquely informative and enlightening.

Here, in one of my favorite passages, Brown describes how, at the direction of his “soul-driver” employer, he endeavored to make old slaves appear younger, so that they would fetch a better price downriver at Rodney, Natchez, and New Orleans:

In the course of eight or nine weeks Mr. Walker had his cargo of human flesh made up. There was in this lot a number of old men and women, some of them with gray locks. We left St. Louis in the steamboat Carlton, Captain Swan, bound for New Orleans. On our way down, and before we reached Rodney, the place where we made our first stop, I had to prepare the old slaves for market. I was ordered to have the old men's whiskers shaved off, and the grey hairs plucked out, where they were not too numerous, in which case he had a preparation of blacking to color it, and with a blacking-brush we would put it on. This was new business to me, and was performed in a room where the passengers could not see us. These slaves were also taught how old they were by Mr. Walker, and after going through the blacking process, they looked ten or fifteen years younger; and I am sure that some of those who purchased slaves of Mr. Walker, were dreadfully cheated, especially in the ages of the slaves which they bought.

We landed at Rodney, and the slaves were driven to the pen in the back part of the village. Several were sold at this place, during our stay of four or five days, when we proceeded to Natchez. There we landed at night, and the gang were put in the warehouse until morning, when they were driven to the pen. As soon as the slaves are put in these pens, swarms of planters may be seen in and about them. They knew when Walker was expected, as he always had the time advertised beforehand when he would be in Rodney, Natchez, and New Orleans. These were the principal places where he offered his slaves for sale.

[Miles Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brown's narrative shares none of the US nationalism of other escape narratives. Brown maintained an indifference to the patriotism that motivated other abolitionists. He also hailed from Missouri instead of the Atlantic South, making this unique escape narrative even more exceptional for its betrayal of a region on the periphery of Unites States slavery

[Adam Balshan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars [Memoir]
(W: 3.15, U: 3, T: 2.75)
Exact rating: 2.97

Most of the book is about William's time in slavery. It entailed graphic (but not gratuitous) eyewitness account of the evils of antebellum slavery in Missouri [T: 4], but was diluted by a leitmotif of cynical, one-sided, sectarian critique of religious complicity despite giving a few examples to the contrary [T: 2], and then for plugging political causes irrelevant to the main thesis.

The former dilution began as a few shots at nominal (fake) Christianity among slaveholders, drivers, and those participating with them. These were valid and well-deserved critiques of cruelty, drunkenness, etc. But later he started taking potshots at all religion indiscriminately and repeated a mantra about America as a Christian nation.

He also included a few bits of contemporary poetry. Most of these were apt and added to the narrative. But one of the first seemed like an imaginative narrative, and its incongruity broke up the flow of the serious narrative.

This book could be used as a jumping-off point for high school or college discussion of the topic of American slavery. I have heard better things about Booker T. Washington, and his book Up from Slavery is next on my docket for this theme.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another heartbreaking story of tremendous courage, determination and sacrifices to gain freedom. I particularly enjoyed the honesty of the writing and full disclosure of the treachery and cunning behaviour of slave owners and slave overseers as well as the detailed explanation of William’s escape from slavery.

[Edward Gray]

A good book, the .narrative of an escaped slave. This a must-read and inspiring story.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart as there is the most unimaginable horror and cruelty on every page, but a really incredible story and incredible person. Well worth the read.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Wells Brown’s account of the violence of slavery and the trials of his escape is short, moving, and hard to put down.

This link has chapters 1 - 15, or pages 1 - 110: https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brown47/...

This link has chapters 11 and 12: http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/0his..., which overlaps one chapter with the previous link - a chapter in which William takes his surname from a Quaker who helped him. In this version, chapter 12 includes the dramatic story of the rescue of a family recaptured in Canada by slavers. The slave-takers brought the Stanford family (husband, wife, and six-week-old infant) through Buffalo. William and other Black residents mobilized to free them, then fought a running battle with a sheriff and his posse to get the Stanfords back to the ferry and safely back to Canada. This last chapter appears to have been added to the 1851 edition, available in full here: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/....

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I would like to say this is not an "inspiring story". This is a story of how a single man, William Wells Brown, escapes the horrible institution of slavery; that is all, and to say it is inspiring is to forget the many who never escaped and the many descriptions of purely evil torture that even Brown furnishes the reader with throughout his narrative. That this story could be viewed as a ruggedly individualistic narrative is totally missing the point.

He was lucky.

With that being said, Brown's narrative is incredibly good. It is short and to the point, making it less literary than many another narrative of the same turn, and yet somehow gives the reader a certain panoramic view of American slavery. This is because Brown was sold or lent to many different masters throughout his time as a slave, and, what is perhaps more important, usually travelled with his masters. We see every ounce of evil that the slavery institution could muster, from what is pratically rape to extreme torture. One of the first incidents of our narrative is explicitly about Randall, a rebellious slave who resolves never to be whipped, being shot, hung up, whipped, and rubbed with salt (water)--torture so strenuous that his will is broken, belying all narratives of the capacity for human endurance.

Brown's honesty is highlighted in this book. We see him do a number of things which nobody would consider good. For example, he tricks a freeman (a free black man) into taking his place in a whipping; he also commits minor robberies. The whole of the narrative is suffused with a sense of powerlessness, because a knife is always at the point of our narrator's neck. If he would not die in punishment, he would be put into worse condition, either by being whipped or by being sold into a plantation (whereas, often enough, Brown was "merely" a shiphand or in-house slave). That our narrator helps enslaved blacks in the process of sale, then, is nothing short of coercion, and a coercion into doing that which is repugnant. In this way, we see the degradation of an otherwise moral man under the system of slavery, for Brown is far and above a moral man throughout our story. He stays in St. Louis to make sure his mother, sister, and brothers have at least someone there to help them, and when he is escapes, he stays in America to help bring others like him into safety. All of which is entirely unnecessary for a man whose whole being calls to be freed and to be safe.

Throughout the narrative, common moral claims are upended by the system of slavery. Christianity is sham or deceit. Fidelity and chasteness is made impossible. (Wives and husbands were separated after all, and masters not only raped their slaves, they would force them into marriages one between the other, even if the slave had already been bethrothed.) Human empathy is made callous, pain is the king of the day, and coercion the sole method of power; it upends all of civilization, all freedom, and all ideals of democracy. What we see in this narrative is often simply this, with biting simplicity, and often described with highlighted irony.

When Brown is eventually able to escape his chains, he is helped along the way by some white folk who are pro-abolition. These folk are women and Quackers, and he is named after one of them (Wells Brown) for his kindness.

Quotes:

"As we travelled towards a land of liberty, my heart would at times leap for joy. At other times, being, as I was, almost constantly on my feet, I felt as though I could travel no further. But when I thought of slavery with its Democratic whips—its Republican chains—its evangelical blood-hounds, and its religious slave-holders—when I thought of all this paraphernalia of American Democracy and Religion behind me, and the prospect of liberty before me, I was encouraged to press forward, my heart was strengthened, and I forgot that I was tired or hungry."

"The slave is brought up to look upon every white man as an enemy to him and his race; and twenty-one years in slavery had taught me that there were traitors, even among colored people."

Notes:

William Brown writes that this was a horrible home, filled with whipping. If one did not wake and work at the proper time, such would be the consequence.

The story of Randall is merely that he does not want to be whipped, rebels, and is tortured into submission, viz.: salting, flaying, shooting, and bagging. This is very literarily done--with the point being the total horror of the thing.

Freeland is a torturer--tying up, whipping, and smoking from tabacoo stems.

Missouri Hotel under John Colburn. Patsey, a slave, is whipped terribly for the sake of having love for another slave and not Colburn. Northern man, Colburn.

He goes on board a ship and does not attempt to escape because he doesn't want to leave his mother and sister behind; he returns to the farm of his origin, works as a field hand, then inside, and meets a Minister who is all pliability.

1 year with Mr. Walker, slave driver. Goes to pen, woman suicide, religion implicated with Mr. Page.

Cynthia, raped or coerced; sold anyway.

On third set of slaves, a woman child cries, but cannot be stopped, so the child is given gratis to some woman.

William tricks a freeman into getting 20 lashes, viz., he doesn't want them himself, and gets the note that tells of it and gives it to his master.

They attempt to escape after sister is sold but are caught, at which point they are taken back. Dr. Young, master to our speaker, intends to sell William--for he will not sell him to a cotton, et al, plantation for being nearly related and promised the father not to. He sells him, however. The mother is sold to a cotton plantation.

On his final attempt at leaving slavery, he is sickened and becomes too cold in the winter--Wells Brown takes him in, a Quaker.

He makes it to Cleveland, Ohio, and there helps many slaves on their way to Canada. He himself wants to go up the river, suggesting the need to wait until winter ends; he gains a job, 12 dollars a month, on board a ship as waiter, and does his work. 69 former slaves he conveys to Canada in this way, living all the while in America.

[Christopher Sutch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating and often thoughtful meditation on Brown's experiences as a slave in Missouri, and his resultant reflections on the institution of slavery. The contrast with Douglass's narrative provides several grounds for interesting comparison. Brown was enslaved to a "slave driver" delivering slaves up and down the Mississippi and saw the inner mechanisms of the slave market from a rather unique perspective (especially interesting is the incident in which he helps his master blacken the hair of an older slave to make him appear younger, thus cheating the eventual purchaser). He is also very harsh in his condemnations of the religious basis and justification of slavery in the South, several times highlighting the irony of the mistreatment of black brethren in Christ by their white masters; one even sold a member of his church down the river. Very fascinating little book.

[Tammy M Jenislawski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read, Very informative

I can't believe what slaves went through during that time. In history class in school they teach you very little what they had to endure. This book goes a little deeper than that. It's horrifying that people could be so cruel and inhumane to people because of their color. Unfortunately there still is racism today. We are all the same, doesn't matter what color our skin is, what nationality we are, or what part of the world we are from. We all FEEL...

[Nathan Ellzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, easy read about an escaped slave from St. Louis, MO. William Wells Brown's story is one of courage, suffering, and finally freedom.

[Omari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

Solid slave narrative. The beauty of this work is in the way Brown conveys his struggle. A necessary part of the slave cannon.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have not read a slave narrative, this is an excellent one to start with. Brown is a powerful storyteller and writer, and his narrative has both his story and then a couple of speaking engagements/ lectures that he gave. Those are great: he attacks slavery from financial, political, moral, and religious angles, and I can easily imagine each of his arguments lifted out of his time and superimposed on the Black Lives Matter rallies and social justice issues that are occurring today. (The more things change….)

There were numerous places where simple, factual statements presented by Brown brought me to a halt. In his first paragraph, he says, “My mother’s name was Elizabeth. She had seven children…. No two of us were from the same father.” Stop there. Think about it. That is book-worthy all by itself.

Twice we hear that an enslaved man was taken to the blacksmith’s shop and a ball-and-chain attached to his leg. Stop there. Think about it. Welded on. No padding on a bare ankle. Now do your work.

Many occasions of whippings. In a speech, a factual statement that to protect women from being raped by white men, mothers, brothers, husbands, and fathers would take their lives instead.

We do not often consider the true brutality of slavery, but we need to understand history both to ensure we do not repeat it, and to understand its repercussions echoing through the years. This country has never had any kind of Truth and Reconciliation, the way South Africa did after apartheid. Books like this can help move the needle just that much closer.

Highly, highly recommended.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an account of a black man who managed to run away from slavery. It is valuable in the sense that the narrative is authentic and recounts a 1st hand, personal experience. It is valuable as an instrument for learning about our past. And it is valuable for it is, apparently, the 1st novel written by a black man in America.

I would have liked to read more, and a much more detailed account. I understand that literary expectations were way different in the 19th century than what they are now. It doesn't matter who the writer is or what the person is (black, white, brown, yellow, man, woman, trans etc etc) .... but the man I am today, I think that this author could have taken more time to do a more thorough job, telling us more about his life and not hurrying us through such important evidence.

[Emma Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting narrative, especially if you have read Clotel because you can see some of Brown's influences for different characters here. It isn't as introspective as Douglass or as intertextual as what Brown writes in Clotel, but I think it paints a good picture of what slavery looks like, even in a more northern location. Brown's specific critique of the way slaveholders claimed Christianity was also in keeping with Clotel, but Clotel spends more time presenting the Abolitionist use of the Bible and I think it would have been cool to see more of that here. It also would have been interesting to see the conditions by which he learned to read. He worked at a print shop when he was younger, so did he learn then or later in his life?

[Hugh Mcnamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very powerful and stirring first hand narrative of the evils of slavery in America. We should acknowledge the dark parts of the history of this country and swear to learn and be better humans than our ancestors. Teaching these tough subjects is not to shame people for others past actions or to blame a race of people for the evils committed in the past but rather to make sure that it never happens again. Slavery is fucking evil and dehumanizing. The civil war was fought over the ownership of slaves. No matter how much some people want to sweep that fact under the rug or blame the north as the aggressors. We still see ripples of racism throughout this country even after slavery was abolished. Everyone should be treated as equals.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, I've read and heard many accounts over the years of the systematic brutalities and humiliations inflicted upon slaves in 19th century America, but there is something particularly chilling about hearing the first-hand accounts of one who endured it. I was much struck by the multiple examples he gave of churches where masters and their slaves were both counted as members. How could a church tolerate such hypocrisy as to allow the contradiction that someone would be a member on Sunday but a piece of chattel property the other six days of the week? God forgive us!

[Steve Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exposes the lie in the suggestion American slavery had benefits for slaves by teaching them means of self sufficiency. So too those that suggest that blacks are uneducable.

We have the accounts of the slaves themselves. Brown, a self educated former slave, provided scathing accounts of his experiences as a slave and his final escape to Canada.

It’s a heart-wrenching and compelling book. The very well done Audible edition includes a speech and essay following his primary narrative.

[Monique Williams]

I don't know how to rate a historical recount of what took place. Black history during the time of slavery is a cruel and brutal point in time. Full of so much racism, cruelty, brutality, and torture. I'm glad Mr. William B Wells got his liberty and could pay it forward. Bless the good people back then that would help those seeking freedom. They are on the right side of history. Let's hope more continue to do the same.

[Matt Laatsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even the way he gets his name is moving. Considering the almost impossible amounts of adversity he faced with no formal education, this is as eloquently written as they come and has powerful statements on humanity as a whole. “We cannot know slavery”, as brown says, but we can make sure we never do, in large part from this account.

[Gabrielle Prendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short, readable account of an enslaved man in the early 1800s. Many fascinating small details make this stand out from other slave narratives—Brown’s various occupations, his observations of casual cruelty, his unexpected encounters with one or possibly two white slaves, as well as those who helped or hindered his eventual freedom. Strongly recommend.

[Kay Smeal · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Story

Such a heart wrenching story of William W. Brown’s experience in slavery. The good, the bad, and the utterly horrible. The trust he had for God despite everything he was forced to go through it amazing. Definitely recommend this read!

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly humbling and informative narrative that brings the perspective of slavery into view. God bless all of the souls that were once bound and let no other be bound in the future. Let us never forget to love our neighbors and to act in kindness towards each other.

[Furqan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

Excellent book from an enslave person in america. I love the honesty of this writer and how he articulates 19 century america.

[Sally Abdalgadir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to say that the text was engaging, but this book is important because the author illustrates the many ways human beings were treated like cattle. It's brief and concise

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Offers insights into the realities of slavery in the US, but also poses some questions for us today.

[Zvonimir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying. It is so scary to witness people becoming the "Other". Also, can really write well and strike parallels and metaphors.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for every American... a realistic depiction of the life of the "American Slave" (as opposed to the popular romanticized version)

[darcy]

Opening Line: The friends of freedom may well congratulate each other on the appearance of the following Narrative.

No Rating

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad. Well written and William was such an impressive young man and a great role model. Easy 108 page book for anyone who wants to get into reading again with a nonfiction book.