In Search Of Hannah Crafts: Critical Essays On The Bondwoman's Narrative

by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Two years ago, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. discovered an unpublished manuscript, The Bondwoman's Narrative, By Hannah Crafts, A Fugitive Recently Escaped From North Carolina , which turned out to be the first novel by a female African-American slave ever found, and possibly the first novel written by a black women anywhere. The Bondwoman's Narrative was published in 2002. In Search of Hannah Crafts now brings together twenty-two authorities on African-American history, including Nina Baym, Jean Fagan Yellin, William Andrews, Lawrence Buell, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, and Shelley Fisher-Fishkin to examine such issues as authenticity and the history and criticism of this unique novel. The Bondwoman's Narrative will take its place in the African-American canon. In Search of Hannah Crafts is the book that scholars and students of African-American Studies, of women writers, and of slavery will need to understand this unprecedented historical and literary event.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

480 pages, Hardcover

First published December 24, 2003

About the author

Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. is a Professor of African and African-American Studies at Harvard University and Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. He is well-known as a literary critic, an editor of literature, and a proponent of black literature and black cultural studies.

Reviews

[Brooke796 ☼ · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Search of Hannah Crafts is primarily for academic readers; however, any reader whose curiosity extends beyond Crafts’ actual narrative would be well rewarded by this deeper exploration into the text. Although the resulting research leaves nothing definite, readers will come away with more pieces of the picture; and, just as a thorough study of Hamlet divulges a glimpse into the life of its mysterious author, this study, of The Bondwoman’s Narrative, reveals an unusually broad portrait of who Hannah Crafts may have been, and how she came to write this astounding narrative.

[Raquel]

It’s a very interesting novel, and very great way of writing too. From some of the books, they read of African-American women, this is a good one. I do recommend.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Search of Hana Craft was an exciting book to read. I loved the details, history, and quality of the content presented. This ex-slave’s biography conveyed a unique view of slave life much different than what is generally presented in most slave narratives. The writer builds a clear picture of her world and shows how one can overcome circumstances by choosing their best options. Though she met with many challenges, she continued to rely heavily on her faith.

She took care to show the humanity of everyone she encountered. The subject matter is troublesome but brilliantly covered. There is an exciting discussion at the end regarding the authenticity of the manuscript.