Uncle Tom's Cabin Stowe, Harriet Beecher; Bromwich, David
2009
eBook
The most controversial antislavery novel written in antebellum America, and a best-seller of the 19th century, this novel is credited with intensifying sectional conflict leading to the Civil War. In ...his introduction, Bromwich places the book in its Victorian contexts and reminds us why it is an enduring work of literary and moral imagination.
Dred Stowe, Harriet Beecher; Levine, Robert S
11/2009
eBook
Harriet Beecher Stowe's second antislavery novel was written partly in response to the criticisms ofUncle Tom's Cabin(1852) by both white Southerners and black abolitionists. InDred(1856), Stowe ...attempts to explore the issue of slavery from an African American perspective.Through the compelling stories of Nina Gordon, the mistress of a slave plantation, and Dred, a black revolutionary, Stowe brings to life conflicting beliefs about race, the institution of slavery, and the possibilities of violent resistance. Probing the political and spiritual goals that fuel Dred's rebellion, Stowe creates a figure far different from the acquiescent Christian martyr Uncle Tom.In his introduction to the classic novel, Robert S. Levine outlines the antislavery debates in which Stowe had become deeply involved before and during her writing ofDred. Levine shows that in addition to its significance in literary history, the novel remains relevant to present-day discussions of cross-racial perspectives.