In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe created America's first black literary hero as well as the nation's antecedent protest novel.
The Classic - Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
When Uncle Tom's Cabin was first published - though it was insanely popular - it was heavily criticized. Angered by these criticisms, author, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote A Key To Uncle Tom's Cabin, where she argued with critical information of the terrors of slavery and factual support for her book. Critics, trying to capitalize on the success but not wanting to fully align with the book, created theatrical performances of the story and completely changed Uncle Tom to a subservient man who would throw others down to save his own life, opposite of Ms. Stowe's Uncle Tom. The real Uncle Tom sacrificed himself to save the life of two women. Unfortunately, the popularity of those performances influenced more of society, leading to the phrase "Uncle Tom" as a derogatory term for being a "traitor to your race."
To this day, the book still faces criticism. Stowe was a northern-born white woman. Her submission had the power to reach the masses - including Abraham Lincoln himself, who is said to have read the story before writing the Emancipation Proclamation and upon meeting Stowe saying “Is this the little woman who made this great war?”
Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Read a preview of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin is the most powerful and enduring work of art ever written about American slavery"-Alfred Kazin
"To expose oneself in maturity to Uncle Tom's cabin may...prove a startling experience"-Edmund Wilson
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe created America's first black literary hero as well as the nation's antecedent protest novel. The novel's vast influence on attitudes towards African American slavery was considered an incitation towards the American Civil War; conjointly, its powerful anti-slavery message resonated with readers around the world at its time of publication.
With unashamed sentimentality and expressions of faith, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in Uncle Tom's Cabin tells the story of the lives of African American slaves from a Kentucky plantation; The master's maid, Eliza; her son, Henry; and, of course, Uncle Tom, the righteous and kind protagonist at the center of the book. When Arthur Selby, a Kentucky slave-owner decides to sell his slaves due to dire financial turns, Eliza runs away with her son, and Tom is sold to a slave trader named Haley. On a Mississippi river boat, Tom's fortunes are revered after he rescues Eva, a young white girl, from drowning. Eva's kind father is so moved by Tom's bravery that he buys him from Haley and brings him into his New Orleans home. In the series of calamitous events that follow, Tom ultimately finds himself in the bondage of the diabolical master Simon Legree. Still provoking controversies to this day, this is one of American literature's most important works of social justice.
Our Modern Companion - An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
We’ve paired this book with An American Marriage one of Oprah’s Book Club picks in 2018. The story focuses on what happens to a family after wrongful imprisonment due to racial bias.
An American Marriage (Oprah's Book Club)
by Jones, Tayari
A NEW YORK TIMES AND WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK
A 2018 BEST OF THE YEAR SELECTION OF NPR * TIME * BUSTLE * O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE * THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS * AMAZON.COM
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB 2018 SELECTION
WINNER OF THE 2019 NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORK--FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
"A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple." --Barack Obama
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn't commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy's time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy's conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.
This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward--with hope and pain--into the future.
Discover more classics and their modern companion each week.