The Bondwoman's Narrative

By Hannah Crafts ,

Book cover of The Bondwoman's Narrative

Book description

Possibly the first novel written by a black woman slave, this work is both a historically important literary event and a gripping autobiographical story in its own right.

When her master is betrothed to a woman who conceals a tragic secret, Hannah Crafts, a young slave on a wealthy North…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Bondwoman's Narrative as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Though not published until 2002, after Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. purchased and authenticated the manuscript, the autobiographical novel The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts is widely considered the first book known to have been written by a fugitive enslaved woman. Crafts was the author’s pseudonym, and the novel, estimated to have been written in 1858, parallels the life of Hannah Bond, a woman who is documented to have escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and who, like the novel’s protagonist, eventually settled in New Jersey. The preface and introduction of the published book read…

From Bettye's list on notable enslaved women.

If you love The Bondwoman's Narrative...

Ad

Book cover of Forsaking Home

Forsaking Home by I. Graham Smith,

Forsaking Home is a story about the life of a man who wants a better future for his children. He and his wife decide to join Earth's first off-world colony. This story is about what risk takers and courageous settlers and what they would do for more freedom.

Edin is…

Want books like The Bondwoman's Narrative?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 71 books like The Bondwoman's Narrative.

Browse books like The Bondwoman's Narrative

Book cover of Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol
Book cover of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
Book cover of Complete Writings

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,359

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Bondwoman's Narrative, you might also like...

Book cover of Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

Call Me Stan by K.R. Wilson,

When King Priam's pregnant daughter was fleeing the sack of Troy, Stan was there. When Jesus of Nazareth was beaten and crucified, Stan was there - one crossover. He’s been a Hittite warrior, a Silk Road mercenary, a reluctant rebel in the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381, and an information peddler…

Book cover of Bessie

Bessie by Linda Kass,

In the bigoted milieu of 1945, six days after the official end of World War II, Bess Myerson, the daughter of poor Russian immigrants living in the Bronx, remarkably rises to become Miss America, the first —and to date only— Jewish woman to do so. At stake is a $5,000…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Virginia, multiracial people, and North Carolina?

Virginia 122 books
North Carolina 140 books