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Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly
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Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly Paperback - 2009

by Harriet Beecher Stowe; Introduction by David Bromwich

A monumental work of American literature, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" charts the progress to freedom of fugitives who escape the chains of slavery. This edition firmly locates the novel within the context of African-American writing, the issues of race, and the role of women.

About this book

In Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe, the title character Uncle Tom is a long-suffering slave, loyal to both his faith and his master. Presented with an opportunity to escape, he instead chooses to remain in slavery to avoid embarrassing his master. After being sold to a slave trader, Tom suffers brutal treatment and is eventually beaten to death for his refusal to betray his friends — made to represent an ideal of true Christianity. Enormously popular (it was the best-selling novel of the 19th century) and influential, it’s publication in 1852 was instrumental in bringing visibility to the cruel reality of slavery. In more recent years, it has come under considerable criticism for its portrayal of meekness and subservience and the phrase “Uncle Tom” is sometimes used as an epithet for someone seen as overly subservient. 

Summary

This unforgettable novel tells the story of Tom, a devoutly Christian slave who chooses not to escape bondage for fear of embarrassing his master. However, he is soon sold to a slave trader and sent down the Mississippi, where he must endure brutal treatment. This is a powerful tale of the extreme cruelties of slavery, as well as the price of loyalty and morality. When first published, it helped to solidify the anti-slavery sentiments of the North, and it remains today as the book that helped move a nation to civil war.

From the publisher

Easily the most controversial antislavery novel written in antebellum America, and one of the best-selling books of the nineteenth century, Uncle Tom's Cabin is often credited with intensifying the sectional conflict that led to the Civil War. In his introduction, David Bromwich places Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel in its Victorian contexts and reminds us why it is an enduring work of literary and moral imagination. The John Harvard Library text follows the first American edition, published by John P. Jewett & Company.

First Edition Identification

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was originally published serially over 40 weeks in the abolitionist journal The National Era, beginning June 5, 1851. It was published by John P. Jewett the following year in two volumes with six illustrated plates by Hammett Billings. The initial printing was 5000 copies and was made available in three different bindings: brown cloth with a gilt ornament on the front board, blue cloth with additional gilt ornamentation, and a paper wrapper. Subsequent editions were issued shortly thereafter, including a holiday “gift edition” in brown gilt cloth with additional illustrations by Billings and an inexpensive “Edition for the Million” in paper wrappers for 37 1/2 cents. The first printing has the following points of issue: “split” instead of “spiled” on page 42 of the first volume, “catechism” rather than “catechism” on page 74 of the second volume, and no attribution to Billings for the engravings. First edition, first printings generally exceed $5,000 and can reach upwards of $15,000 with Stowe’s signature. 

Details

  • Title Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly
  • Author Harriet Beecher Stowe; Introduction by David Bromwich
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 624
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Belknap Press, Belknap Press
  • Date 2009-04-01
  • ISBN 9780674034075 / 0674034074
  • Weight 1.19 lbs (0.54 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.28 x 5.52 x 1.54 in (21.03 x 14.02 x 3.91 cm)
  • Reading level 1050
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
    • Chronological Period: 1851-1899
    • Cultural Region: South
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Religious Orientation: Christian
    • Topical: Civil War
  • Library of Congress subjects Fugitive slaves, Slavery
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2009004440
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Library Journal, 05/01/2009, Page 80
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Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly
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Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly

by Stowe, Harriet Beecher

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Uncle Tom's Cabin ; or, Life among the Lowly

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Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (The John Harvard Library)
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Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (The John Harvard Library)

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