North Carolina Slave Narratives: The Lives of Moses Roper, Lunsford Lane, Moses Grandy, and Thomas H. Jones

The autobiographies of former slaves contributed powerfully to the abolitionist movement in the United States, fanning national--even international--indignation against the evils of slavery. The four texts gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth century. The writings of Moses Roper (1838), Lunsford Lane (1842), Moses Grandy (1843), and the Reverend Thomas H. Jones (1854) provide a moving testament to the struggles of enslaved people to affirm their human dignity and ultimately seize their liberty.

Introductions to each narrative provide biographical and historical information as well as explanatory notes. Andrews's general introduction to the collection reveals that these narratives not only helped energize the abolitionist movement but also laid the groundwork for an African American literary tradition that inspired such novelists as Toni Morrison and Charles Johnson.

The autobiographies of former slaves contributed powerfully to the abolitionist movement in the United States, fanning national--and international--indignation against the evils of slavery. The four texts gathered here are all from North Carolina slaves and are among the most memorable and influential slave narratives published in the nineteenth century. The writings of Moses Roper (1838), Lunsford Lane (1842), Moses Grandy (1843), and the Reverend Thomas H. Jones (1854) provide a moving testament to the struggles of enslaved people to affirm their human dignity and ultimately seize their liberty. Introductions to each narrative provide biographical and historical information as well as explanatory notes.

ISBN-13: 9780807856581

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: University of North Carolina Press

Publication Date: 08-29-2005

Pages: 296

Product Dimensions: 9.14h x 5.98w x 0.70d

Series: The John Hope Franklin African American History and Culture

Andrews, William L.: - General editor William L. Andrews is E. Maynard Adams Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Literary Career of Charles W. Chesnutt and To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 1760-1865. Coeditors David A. Davis, Tampathia Evans, Ian Frederick Finseth, and Andrea N. Williams have earned graduate degrees in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.