Other editions of book Clotelle: Or, The Colored Heroine. A Tale Of The Southern States.

William Wells Brown, who is credited with being the first African American novelist, crafts a groundbreaking piece of American fiction in his 1853 work “Clotel; Or, The President’s Daughter”. The long untouched subject matter of mixed race identity during the antebellum South is here treated with great deft and bravery. William Wells Brown confronts the hypocrisy of slavery, examining the detrimental effects it has on society. Even more direct is Brown’s confrontation of Thomas Jefferson’s controversial intimacy with his slaves, a relationship which bore many mixed race children. In “Clotel”, we follow the story of Clotel, a mixed-race daughter of Thomas Jefferson. Through this central character we witness the struggles of a person of mixed race in dealing with their split identity in a racially divided society. In her quest for freedom we find an ill-fated soul caught up in the difficulty of race relations in early American life. This tragic story brilliantly explores the complex history of slavery in the first part of the 19th century. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

William Wells Brown (1814-1884) was a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer and lecturer. In 1847, he published the Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself, which became a bestseller second only to Frederick Douglass' narrative. He was also a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama, and wrote what is considered to be the first novel by an African American: Clotel; or, The President's Daughter (1853). However, because the novel was published in England, the book is not the first African-American novel published in the United States. Most scholars agree that Brown is the first published African-American playwright. He wrote two plays, The Experience; or, How to Give a Northern Man a Backbone (1856) and The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom (1858). Brown also wrote several historical works, including: The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements (1863), The Negro in the American Revolution (1867) and The Rising Son (1873).

FOR many years the South has been noted for its beautiful Quadroon women. Bottles of ink, and reams of paper, have been used to portray the "finely-cut and well-moulded features," the "silken curls," the "dark and brilliant eyes," the "splendid forms," the "fascinating smiles," and "accomplished manners" of these impassioned and voluptuous daughters of the two races,—the unlawful product of the crime of human bondage. When we take into consideration the fact that no safeguard was ever thrown around virtue, and no inducement held out to slave-women to be pure and chaste, we will not be surprised when told that immorality pervades the domestic circle in the cities and towns of the South to an extent unknown in the Northern States. Many a planter's wife has dragged out a miserable existence, with an aching heart, at seeing her place in the husband's affections usurped by the unadorned beauty and captivating smiles of her waiting-maid. Indeed, the greater portion of the colored women, in the days of slavery, had no greater aspiration than that of becoming the finely-dressed mistress of some white man. At the negro balls and parties, that used to be so frequently given, this class of women generally made the most splendid appearance.

Clotelle; or, the Colored Heroine, a tale of the Southern States; or, the President's Daughter is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William Wells Brown is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of William Wells Brown then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.