Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published as an anti

slavery tract. It was written as a testament by a slave.

On both scores, the book was a great success. The Boston Anti-Slavery Society published the book itself from its Boston office in the spring of 1845, and it proved to be one of the most persuasive of the many publications offered in an effort to win public support for the abolition of slavery. Douglass understood that this was why the book was published and was proud that it was to be so used.

Upon its publication in 1845, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by. Himself became an immediate best-seller. In addition to its far-reaching impact on the antislavery movement in the United States and abroad,Douglass's fugitive slave narrative won recognition for its literary excellence, which has since earned it a place among the classics of nineteenth-century American autobiography. This Norton Critical Edition reprints the 1845 first edition of Douglass's compelling autobiography. Explanatory annotations accompany the text.

A rich selection of "Contexts" provides readers with contemporary perspective. Included are the little-known preface that Douglass wrote in 1846 expressly for the second Irish edition of his Narrative; a public exchange of letters between A. C. C.Thompson, a former slaveholder, and Douglass; three autobiographical portraits of Douglass's parents; Douglass's account of his escape from slavery, which he chose not to include in the 1"845 Narrative; samples of Douglass's use of his slave experience in two of his most influential antislavery speeches; and reminiscences of Douglass as both orator and friend by James Monroe Gregory and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

"Criticism" collects six essential assessments of the Narratire's historical and literary significance by William S. McFeely,Peter Ripley, Robert B. Stepto, William L. Andrews, Houston A.Baker, Jr., and Deborah E. McDowell.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

Preface

The Text of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself

Preface by William Lloyd Garrison

Letter from Wendell Phillips

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Contexts

Margaret Fuller·[Review of the Narrative](New York Tribune, June lo, 1845)

Anonymous·[Review of the Narrative](Spectator, November 29, 1845)

A. C. C. Thompson·[Letter from a Former Slaveholder](Liberator, December 12, 1845)

Frederick Douglass·[Reply to Thompson's Letter] (Liberator,February 27, 1846)

Preface to the Second Dublin Edition of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1846)

Douglass on His Mother and His Father (1845, 1855, 1892)

Douglass on His Escape from Slavery (1882)

I Am Here to Spread Light on American Slavery (October 14, 1845)

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? (July 5, 1852)

James Monroe Gregory·From Frederick Douglass, the Orator(1893)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton·[Diary Entry on Douglass's Death](February 21, 1895)

Criticism

William S. McFeely·[The Writing of the Narrative]

Peter Ripley·The Autobiographical Writings of Frederick Douglass

Robert B. Stepto·Narration, Authentication, and Authorial Control in Frederick Douglass' Narrative of 1845

William L. Andrews·[Frederick Douglass and the American Jeremiad]

Houston A. Baker, Jr.·[The Economics of Douglass's Narrative]

Deborah E. McDowell·In the First Place: Making Frederick Douglass and the Afro-American Narrative Tradition

Frederick Douglass: A Chronology

Selected Bibliography