Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man
This definitive biography tells the story of the former slave Olaudah Equiano (1745?–1797), who in his day was the English-speaking world’s most renowned person of African descent. Equiano’s greatest legacy is his classic 1789 autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. A key document of the early movement to ban the slave trade, as well as the fundamental text in the genre of the African American slave narrative, it includes the earliest known purported firsthand description by an enslaved victim of the horrific Middle Passage from Africa to the Americas. Equiano, the African is filled with fresh revelations about this many-sided figure.
"1101615590"
Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man
This definitive biography tells the story of the former slave Olaudah Equiano (1745?–1797), who in his day was the English-speaking world’s most renowned person of African descent. Equiano’s greatest legacy is his classic 1789 autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. A key document of the early movement to ban the slave trade, as well as the fundamental text in the genre of the African American slave narrative, it includes the earliest known purported firsthand description by an enslaved victim of the horrific Middle Passage from Africa to the Americas. Equiano, the African is filled with fresh revelations about this many-sided figure.
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Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man
This definitive biography tells the story of the former slave Olaudah Equiano (1745?–1797), who in his day was the English-speaking world’s most renowned person of African descent. Equiano’s greatest legacy is his classic 1789 autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. A key document of the early movement to ban the slave trade, as well as the fundamental text in the genre of the African American slave narrative, it includes the earliest known purported firsthand description by an enslaved victim of the horrific Middle Passage from Africa to the Americas. Equiano, the African is filled with fresh revelations about this many-sided figure.
VINCENT CARRETTA is professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland. He is the author or editor of more than ten books, including scholarly editions of the writings of Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley Peters, Ignatius Sancho, and Ottobah Cugoano. His books include Phillis Wheatley Peters: Biography of a Geniusin Bondage;Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man; and The Life and Letters ofPhilip Quaque, the First African Anglican Missionary, coedited with Ty M. Reese (all Georgia). He lives in Springfield, Virginia.
Table of Contents
Equiano, the AfricanList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Note on Money Chapter One. Equiano's Africa Chapter Two. The Middle Passage Chapter Three. At Sea Chapter Four. Freedom Denied Chapter Five. Bearing Witness Chapter Six. Freedom of a Sort Chapter Seven. Toward the North Pole Chapter Eight. Born Again Chapter Nine. Seeking a Mission Chapter Ten. The Black Poor Chapter Eleven. Turning against the Slave Trade Chapter Twelve. Making a Life Chapter Thirteen. The Art of the Book Chapter Fourteen. A Self-Made Man Notes Bibliography Index
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
An intriguing piece of detective work. (The Washington Post)
Masterful . . . offers not only the definitive biography of Equiano but also a first-rate social history of the late eighteenth century. (Publishers Weekly, starred review)