The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative

Received in a timely fashion n

So, years ago, Henry Louis Gates bought a manuscript at auction that may have been written by a slave. People doubted this, how many literate southern slaves existed, how many of them dared to name names in a story? Dr. Gates put quite a bit of research into the manuscript, and published it with a long forward explaining what he did and didn’t know. It’s titled The Bondswoman’s Narrative. I have to admit I missed its original publication. Fast forward decades and we have a new book written by a professor who was based in North Carolina for a long time and could comb the area. He not only did the usual wills and other records, he tracked down potential descendants of slave owners and poured through their dusty attics. This book is his detective story first and foremost, but he adds a lot of background to many subjects as well. The book deals with rape of house slaves to a degree that I have never encountered before, as well as literacy, styles of writing in the 1800’s, the agonies of family separation, religion and other important topics.And he has solved the mystery, an amazing feat given that slaves were usually listed by age and sex only on census forms. I could not put this down, and then went back and read the original Bondswoman’s Narrative.This is the oldest, possibly the first novel written by a woman slave. It is compelling, and the detective story is icing on the cake. The two books are one of the most significant contributions to African American literature that I have read. Bravo,

This is a big book with lots of historical references. Great for a history buff but not what I was expecting. No modern text

The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts is a brilliant and sensitive biography--and groundbreaking scholarship, for any student of literature, history, biography, archives, etc. An engaging and accessible read for all people. Prepare to be moved and surprised with the turn of each page. Necessary reading.

I was so pleased to find this book on Amazon. It is required reading for my Southern Lit class this semester. It was a great price and was delivered quickly!

Bertie County, NC, is the center of the world! No wonder America’s first black female novelist came from here. Great detective story on the author’s decades-long search to identify the author of the Bondwoman’s Narrative. Bond, Hannah Bond.

Gift for my wife. She loves it

Got this book for my birthday and it’s so amazing! I’ve been recommending this read to others.