Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Bondswoman of Olden Time, with a History of Her Labors and Correspondence Drawn from Her "Book of Life"; Also, a Memorial Chapter (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Truth, Sojourner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140436782 ISBN 13: 9780140436785

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 1998

Synopsis

This remarkable narrative, first published in 1850, offers a rare glimpse into the little-documented world of Northern slavery. Truth recounts her life as a slave in rural New York, her separation from her family, her religious conversion, and her life as a traveling preacher during the 1840s. She also describes her work as a social reformer, counselor of former slaves, and sponsor of a black migration to the West.

About this title

Review

"The time is long overdue for a compelling look at the legendary Sojourner Truth. Margaret Washington deserves our gratitude for reclaiming Truth and shedding light on the most enigmatic black woman of the 19th century."

-- Darlene Clark Hine, Professor of History, Michigan State University

About the Author

Sojourner Truth, born Isabella, a slave in Ulster County, New York, around 1797, became an abolitionist, orator, and preacher, and eventually an icon for strong black women. She was emancipated by state law in 1827, and the following year she moved to New York City, where she found work in wealthy households and became increasingly involved in unorthodox religious groups. In the early 1830s she joined the commune or "Kingdom" of the Prophet Matthias. By 1843 she had transformed herself into the itinerant preacher Sojourner Truth, and spent most of the next thirteen years in Northampton, Massachusetts. Illiterate, she dictated her autobiography to her neighbor Olive Gilbert, and the Narrative of Sojourner Truth was published in 1850. The following year Truth set out to promote her book and to speak out on abolition and women's rights. In the 1870s Truth's friend and informal manager Frances Titus compiled a new edition of the Narrative, adding the "Book of Life," a scrapbook comprising essays, articles, and letters from Truth's contemporary admirers. Truth died in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1883, and the following year Titus published a new edition that included "A Memorial Chapter." Nell Irvin Painter is the author of Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol and Standing at Armageddon, the United States, 1877-1919, The Narrative of Hosea Hudson and Exodusters: Black Migration to Kansas After Reconstruction. She is Edwards Professor of History at Princeton University, where she currently heads the program in African-American Studies.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0140436782
• ISBN 13: 9780140436785
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288