Our Nig; or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jr. Henry Louis Gates (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I sat up most of the night reading and pondering the enormous significance of Harriet Wilson's Our Nig." ?Alice Walker -- Review

Ignored by critics upon its publication and "lost" for more than one hundred years, Our Nig was rediscovered and reprinted in 1983 and is currently considered to be the first novel by an African-American published in the United States. It is a fascinating book which combines elements of nineteenth-century slave narratives and domestic novels and defied the social conventions of its time by portraying interracial marriage, child abandonment, cruel Northerners, and an African-American heroine who is full of energy, intelligence, and imagination, bowed only by prolonged and arduous toil. The story begins with six year-old Frado, deserted by her white mother after the death of her black father and left to live as a servant with the Bellmonts. While some Bellmont family members are sympathetic, Frado is treated like a slave by the mistress of the house and her daughter. By the time Frado is an adult she fulfills duties in "all departments - man, boy, housekeeper, domestic, etc." One by one, Frado's allies are taken from her, replaced finally by a man with whom "she opened her heart to the presence of love" - and who then deserts her. With an ironic, circular return to the beginning of the story, Our Nig is Frado's - and the author's - attempt to support herself and her child. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

" The landmark research and skillful criticism done by Foreman and Pitts should shape discussion of Our Nig for years to come."
-African American Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House; 2nd edition (April 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394532104
• ISBN-13: 978-0394532103
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,722,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars buy it with the Foreman & Pitts introduction, May 7, 2005

By	anonymous "anonymous" (St Louis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black (Paperback)

Though I currently have the 1983 edition with the introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr (whose name is in the introduction for almost every important Af-Am text in circulation, it seems), I plan on getting this latest edition.

Until recently, biographical details on Wilson were limited. Indeed, they seemed to trail off soon after the publication of her book (a death certificate for her son six months after its printing has suggested to some that her call for support went unheard). This introduciton offers new and happier information, showing that Wilson lived a long life--in part as a successful lecturer on the Spiritualist circuit.

In any edition this is a great book. Really, "great" isn't superlative enough to cover how important and interesting it is. But if you're going to buy it, get this edition.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slave of Northern Abolitionist but free, May 7, 2007

By	Tony Thomas (SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black (Paperback)

This book was written by a woman who was supposed to be a free Black woman. In fact she was treated like a slave, a Black wage slave. She was oppressed by a family of who were Northern Abolitionists. Yet, she was treated like a slave. Succeeding generations of whites studying the book denied her and her class the ability to write such a book: they claimed the book had to have been written by a white person and that it was a novel, not real.

Millions of Black women who have slaved in white kitchens and cleaning white homes during and since slavery have a spokesperson in Harriet E. Wilson. This book helps us understand not just to pity them, but to understanding their ability to fight back with their minds.

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed "Our Nig", November 4, 2009

By	Carmen Burgess (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black (Paperback)

Bought the book for a class reading,. I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. The dialect is enjoyable to read. The story is interesting and worth the buy.