The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: An American Slave (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography) [Paperback]

Henry Bibb (Author), Charles J. Heglar (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0299168948 | ISBN-13: 978-0299168940 | Publication Date: November 30, 2000

First published in 1849 and largely unavailable for many years, The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb is among the most remarkable slave narratives. Born on a Kentucky plantation in 1815, Bibb first attempted to escape from bondage at the age of ten. He was recaptured and escaped several more times before he eventually settled in Detroit, Michigan, and joined the antislavery movement as a lecturer. Bibb's story is different in many ways from the widely read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave and Harriet Jacobs- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. He was owned by a Native American; he is one of the few ex-slave autobiographers who had labored in the Deep South (Louisiana); and he writes about folkways of the slaves, especially how he used conjure to avoid punishment and to win the hearts of women. Most significant, he is unique in exploring the importance of marriage and family to him, recounting his several trips to free his wife and child. This new edition includes an introduction by literary scholar Charles Heglar and a selection of letters and editorials by Bibb.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I was brought up in [Kentucky]. Or, more correctly speaking …  I was flogged up; for where I should have received moral, mental, and religious instruction I received stripes without number, the object of which was to degrade and keep me in subordination. …  I have been dragged down to the lowest depths of human degradation and wretchedness, by Slaveholders."—Henry Bibb

"This new edition will be invaluable to students and scholars of the slave narrative tradition and of the broader African American literary tradition. Demonstrating sound scholarship and an eye for detail, Heglar’s introduction shows how Bibb’s story diverges from other slave narratives in its emphasis on the importance of the slave family."—Christopher De Santis, author of Langston Hughes and the Chicago Defender

"Bibb's compelling narrative of escape and recapture, of love and renunciation, is virtually unique in the annals of the slave narrative.  Bibb offers a striking self-portrait of a man caught between two worlds, a slave past that he could not cast off or forget, and a future in freedom to which he urgently desired to commit himself.  Bibb's dilemmas touch our sympathies in ways that Frederick Douglass, who seemed to assimilate and succeed in the North without so much as a longing look backward, does not move us. —William L. Andrews, coeditor of the Library of America anthology Slave Narratives

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

This book is a part the series, Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography William L. Andrews, Series Editor --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press (November 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299168948
• ISBN-13: 978-0299168940
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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This review is from: The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb: An American Slave (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography) (Paperback)

This is the autobiography of ex-slave and Abolitionist Henry Bibb, first published in 1849. Bibb effectively details his life as a slave, a fugitive slave and a free man, with the accompanying trials, sorrows and triumphs. Since it was written in 1849, the style will be very old-fashioned to some, but that only lends authenticity to his story. If you are interested in Ante-bellum slavery in the American South and the struggles for Abolition, please add this to your reading list.