Discussion of themes and motifs in william wells brown s clotel. Clotel, or the presidents daughter 1st edition william. This was the first of the four editions that comprise the first novel published by. When the book was published, brown himself was legally the property of someone else within the united states, having escaped from slavery in kentucky when he was younger. Abstract this essay situates william wells browns novel clotel. Originally published in 1853, clotel is the first novel by an african american.
Jan 20, 2017 what if founding father thomas jefferson had an affair with a slave and fathered an illegitimate mulatto daughter. Or, the presidents daughter, a narrative of slave life in the united states is principally about the fate of an african american female slave, clotel, who is described by william wells. It is often considered the first africanamerican novel. About the series about this volume list of illustrations part i. Browns ambivalent approach to thomas jefferson in his novel matches what could be seen in the 1850s as jeffersons ambivalent approach to human rights as a. Free download of clotel or the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Or, the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Librivox recording of clotel, or, the presidents daughter, by william wells brown. Discussion of themes and motifs in william wells browns clotel. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more. In clotel, the author focuses on the experiences of a slave woman. It tells the story of clotel, the mixedrace daughter of president thomas.
Clotel, or the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Bibliography includes bibliographical references p. More than two hundred years have elapsed since the first cargo of slaves was landed on the banks of the james river, in the colony of virginia, from the west coast of africa. Clotel, or, the presidents daughter internet archive. Cultural and historical background chronology of browns life and times a note on the text and annotations clotel or, the presidents daughter 1853 edition part ii. He escaped, became an abolitionist and a writer in england, and was purchased by friends and freed in the middle of the 19th century.
Clotel or, the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Based on facts and narratives that william wells brown collected on his own journey out of slavery, clotel unashamedly looks many facets of slavery in the eye and calls them out as the horrors they are. Clotel, or the presidents daughter by william wells brown free. He published clotel in 1853 as the first novel written by a black american. You can also read the full text online using our ereader. William wells brown, a contemporary of frederick douglass, was well known, isbn 9781563248030 buy the clotel, or the presidents daughter ebook. Jan 01, 2000 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. By william wells brown, a fugitive slave, author of three years in europe. Clotel, or the presidents daughter isbn 9781563248030 pdf. Clotel or the presidents daughter, by william wells brown. A narrative of slave life in the united states bedford cultural editions william wells wells brown, robert levine on.
Read clotel or the presidents daughter, by william wells brown in html for free. Dramatizing the victimization of black women under slavery, the novel measures the yawning chasm between americas founding ideals and. This was the first of the four editions that comprise the first novel published by an african american writer. The president s daughter pdf download full pdf read book page. He soon promised to purchase clotel, as speedily as it could be effected, and make her mistress of her own dwelling. A fastpaced and harrowing tale of slavery and freedom, of the hypocrisies of a nation founded on democratic principles, clotel is more than a sensationalist novel. Many people prefer to read offline or to print out text and read from the real printed page. With a sketch of the authors life spine clotel william wells brown, a fugitive slave. William wells browns clotel wesscholar wesleyan university. Drawing on what were, in the 19th century, rumors that thomas jefferson had children with his slave sally hemings, the novel follows the slave clotel and her family as they are sold to different masters. Others want to carry documents around with them on their mobile phones and read while they are on th. Jefferson, thomas, 17431826 relations with women fiction subject.
Clotel or the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Clotel, or, the presidents daughter by william wells brown. Or, the presidents daughter by william wells brown free. Brown, who escaped from slavery in 1834 at the age of 20, published the book in london. William wells brown, clotel, or the presidents daughter clotel would have historic interest simply by virtue of the fact that william wells brown appears to have been the first african american to write a novel. Preface more than two hundred years have elapsed since the first cargo of slaves was landed on the banks of the james river, in the colony of virginia, from the west coast of africa. William wells brown s 1853 novel clotel, or the president s daughter, was first published in england. This novel focuses on the difficult lives of mulattoes in america and the degraded and immoral condition of the relation of master and slave in the usa brown.
Escaping from the slave dealer, clotel returns to virginia disguised as a white man in order to rescue her daughter, mary, a slave in her fathers house. Interestingly, brown opens the novel with a shortened version of his narrative entitled, narrative of the life and escape of william wells brown. Brown treats the themes of gender, race, and slavery in distinctive ways, highlighting the. William wells browns clotel or, the presidents daughter is often considered the first novel an africanamerican. The story was based upon the popular rumor that thomas jefferson fathered several children with his slave mistress. A narrative of slave life in the united states is an 1853 novel by united states author and playwright william wells brown about clotel and her sister, fictional slave daughters of thomas jefferson. A narrative of slave life in the united states bedford cultural editions brown, william wells wells, levine, robert on. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of clotel. Author william wells brown uses this as a point of departure for clotel, or the presidents daughter to examine race relations in 1800s america.
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