The first time I came to the sentence calling Clotel the daughter of Thomas Jefferson I felt the boldness of that sentence, and the truth of it, that it was known even in 1853 that Jefferson had children who were slaves. There is something audacious and true about this book, however fictional. Those who enjoy classic historical novels would do well to investigate this book.

I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of primary sources as additional atmosphere. The story is gripping, moving, and well-written. We see the story arcs for all three characters as they go through hurdle after hurdle trying to reunite.

His book not only relies on his story-telling skills (this book is far less preachy than Uncle Tom's Cabin, despite the similar subject matter) but also on contemporary documents such as newspaper articles, first-person accounts and so on to create his tale.Ĭlotel, along with her sister Althesa and their mother, Currer, is sold in the slave markets after her master's death. Not only is this the first historical novel written by an African-American Brown was an escaped slave living in London when he wrote and published the tale. However, Brown's narrative is well-informed for a variety of reasons. We now know, through DNA testing, that those rumors were true - but the author could only go on supposition. At the time the book was published in 1853, rumors were rife about Jefferson's relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. 'Clotel' is the story of a slave woman who was allegedly the daughter of Thomas Jefferson. A contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by the charismatic orator and the two feuded publicly. After his freedom was purchased by a British couple in 1854, he and his family returned to the US, where he rejoined the abolitionist lecture circuit. Lecturing in England when the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law was passed in the US, which required people in the North to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, Brown stayed for several years to avoid the risk of capture and re-enslavement. He has a school named after him in Lexington, Kentucky and was among the first writers inducted to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. Brown was a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama. His novel Clotel (1853) is considered the first novel written by an African American it was published in London, where he was living at the time. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North in 1834, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. William Wells Brown was a prominent African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian.

Clotel book