Скачать книгу - Clotel

William Wells Brown, who is credited with being the first African American novelist, crafts a groundbreaking piece of American fiction in his 1853 work “Clotel; Or, The President’s Daughter”. The long untouched subject matter of mixed race identity during the antebellum South is here treated with great deft and bravery. William Wells Brown confronts the hypocrisy of slavery, examining the detrimental effects it has on society. Even more direct is Brown’s confrontation of Thomas Jefferson’s controversial intimacy with his slaves, a relationship which bore many mixed race children. In “Clotel”, we follow the story of Clotel, a mixed-race daughter of Thomas Jefferson. Through this central character we witness the struggles of a person of mixed race in dealing with their split identity in a racially divided society. In her quest for freedom we find an ill-fated soul caught up in the difficulty of race relations in early American life. This tragic story brilliantly explores the complex history of slavery in the first part of the 19th century.

Clotel - or, Thomas Jefferson's Daughter (Unabridged)

Автор: William Wells Brown

Год издания:

First published in 1853 amidst rumors that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with one of his slaves, Clotel is a fictional chronicle of one such child. After Jefferson's death, his mistress and her two daughters are auctioned. One daughter, Clotel, is purchased by a white man from Virginia who impregnates her. Despite the promise of marriage, Clotel is instead sold to another man and separated from her daughter. After escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returnss to Virginia to reunite with her daughter – now a slave in her father's house.

Clotel; Or, The President's Daughter

Автор: William Wells Brown

Год издания:

William Wells Brown (1814-1884) is credited with being the first African American novelist. His 1853 work «Clotel; Or, The President's Daughter» is a groundbreaking piece of American fiction. The long untouched subject matter of mixed race identity during the antebellum South is here treated with great craft and bravery. William Wells Brown confronts the hypocrisy of slavery, examining the detrimental effects it has on society. Even more direct is Brown's confrontation of Thomas Jefferson's controversial intimacy with his slaves—a relationship which bore many mixed race children. In «Clotel», we follow the story of Clotel, a mixed-race daughter of Thomas Jefferson. The novel introduces the «tragic-mulatto» archetype into American fiction. With a split identity, this ill-fated soul is ruined by a racially divided society. Clotel wrestles with this existence as a mixed slave; as she vies for freedom we witness her struggle through life. This deft novel examines race relations in a troubled early America.