The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave: The First Slave Narrative Book by a Black Woman (Annotated)

The sole documented autobiographical memoir of Mary Prince, a Bermudan woman who was enslaved and brought to London in the 1820s by her owners the Woods. After years of mistreatment, she unsuccessfully fought for her freedom, first through the courts and later via a parliamentary petition. Prince described her experience of slavery to the novelist Susannah Strickland, who wrote the account in standard English and organised it in a way that would be acceptable to the British public. The book had a huge impact on publication as it coincided with a time when the movement promoting slavery was at its peak in the Americas and Caribbean. It was especially appealing to female anti-slavery advocates as it underlined the impact of slavery on domestic life: family breakdown, the absence of “normal” marital life, sexual oppression, and the humiliation endured by female slaves.

Format: Paperback

Paperback: 79 Pages

Language: English