African American Slave Narratives
An Anthology

A three-part series which contains a collection of African-American slave narratives of the 19th century. Each of the 16 narratives is accompanied by a preface, explanatory notes, and suggestions for further reading. Many of the narratives were influential when first published.

The introductions and annotations redefine current thinking in the field by closely examining how these authors used language, structured their writing, and crafted their autobiographies. By examining the historical, cultural, literary, and social issues that African Americans have faced since their arrival, this reference provides the broad context necessary to understand the literary, historical, and intellectual traditions from which these writings developed.