Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (HC) (2024)

Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Bailey) doesn't know the year of his birth. Separated from his mother in infancy, he sees her only a few times, always at night, before her death. His fellow slaves agree that his father is a white man. At the age of seven or eight, Frederick is sent from the Maryland plantation of his birth to Baltimore. His kindly new mistress starts teaching him to read, until her furious husband forbids it. Frederick realizes then that reading is his path to freedom, but his journey is long and difficult. In writing his narrative, Frederick Douglass, a fugitive slave, revealed his slave name, the names of his masters and overseers, and the locations of his servitude, putting him in danger of being captured and returned into slavery. This volume also includes eleven selected essays and speeches.

Frederick Douglass's 1845 autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, remains a crucial work in American literature and history, chronicling his life from slavery to freedom and his emergence as an influential voice in the abolitionist movement. Douglass's eloquent examination of slavery's brutalities and his passionate advocacy for human rights resonate today amid ongoing discussions about racial injustice and inequality. His narrative underscores the enduring struggle for dignity and equality, serving as both a historical document and a source of inspiration for movements advocating social change and civil rights in contemporary society.