Six Women's Slave Narratives

by William L. Andrews (introduction)

The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave (1831) was the first female slave narrative from the Americas. The Story of Mattie J.Jackson (1866) recounts a quest for personal freedom and ends with a family reunion in the North after the Civil War. The Memoir of Old Elizabeth, a Colored Woman (1863) is the tale of a 97-year-old ex-slave who became a preacher. Lucy A.Delaney's From the Darkness Cometh the Light or Struggles for Freedom (c. 1891) records a former slave's achievements in the quarter-century after the end of the Civil War. Kate Drumgoold and Annie L.Burton also describe their successes in the postwar North while eulogizing black motherhood in the antebellum South.

Contents:
-Introduction by William L. Andrews
-The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave (1831) (includes The Narrative of Asa-Asa, a Captured African). Originally edited by Thomas Pringle.
-Memoirs of Old Elizabeth, a Colored Woman (1863)
-The Story of Mattie J. Jackson (1866). Written and arranged by Dr. L. S. Thompson
-From the Darkness Cometh the Light or Struggles for Freedom (c. 1891) by Lucy. A. Delaney
-A Slave Girl's Story (1898) by Kate Drumgoold
-Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days (1909) by Annie. L. Burton

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

William Leake Andrews (1948-) is an American Professor Emeritus of English at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a scholar of early African-American literature. Wikipedia

Reviews

[Bridget]

Moving!!

[Rachel]

I hate that I couldn't finish this. I really wanted to understand and maybe establish a deeper understanding of myself through the stories of enslaved women. But I found it hard to read these stories of injustice and maltreatment. Picturing all too vivid images of the pain and suffering they encountered, it became too real and emotionally draining to finish. Kudos to anyone that can get through this without openly weeping. Maybe I will try to finish when I am in a different place. But for now, I cannot do it.

[Otter]

The different sizes of print between the six narratives can be a little annoying. Also, some of the narratives are transcribed, rather than written by the ex-slaves themselves. Stay away from Kate Drumgoold's narrative, which is the most frustrating, a-linear autobiographical account I've ever read. The book overall is a valuable addition for those who study slave narratives, but not essential for general readers.

[Andrea]

This is a moving collection of essays by six slave women during the the civil war era but their locations differ regionally which inevitably have an effect on the overall experience of the women as individuals. It is somewhat graphic but gives an incredible perspective.

[Catherine Richmond]

I was blown away by the violence these women survived, their articulate descriptions of their lives, and the incredible depth of their faith.