Obi; or, The History of Three-Fingered Jack (Broadview Editions Series) - Softcover

Earle, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551116693 ISBN 13: 9781551116693

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2005

Synopsis

Three-Fingered Jack," the protagonist of this 1800 novel, is based on the escaped slave and Jamaican folk hero Jack Mansong, who was believed to have gained his strength from the Afro-Caribbean religion of obeah, or "obi." His story, told in an inventive mix of styles, is a rousing and sympathetic account of an individual's attempt to combat slavery while defending family honour. Historically significant for its portrayal of a slave rebellion and of the practice of obeah, Obi is also a fast-paced and lively novel, blending religion, politics, and romance. This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and a selection of contemporary documents, including historical and literary treatments of obeah and accounts of an eighteenth-century slave rebellion.

About this title

About the Author

Srinivas Aravamudan teaches eighteenth-century literature and post-colonial studies at Duke University, where he is the director of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute. He is the author of Tropicopolitans: Colonialism and Agency, 1688-1804 (Duke University Press) and of Guru English: South Asian Religion in a Cosmopolitan Language (Princeton University Press).

From the Back Cover

"Three-Fingered Jack," the protagonist of this 1800 novel, is based on the escaped slave and Jamaican folk hero Jack Mansong, who was believed to have gained his strength from the Afro-Caribbean religion of obeah, or "obi." His story, told in an inventive mix of styles, is a rousing and sympathetic account of an individual's attempt to combat slavery while defending family honour. Historically significant for its portrayal of a slave rebellion and of the practice of obeah, Obi is also a fast-paced and lively novel, blending religion, politics, and romance.

This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and a selection of contemporary documents, including historical and literary treatments of obeah and accounts of an eighteenth-century slave rebellion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551116693
• ISBN 13: 9781551116693
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200
• Editor: Aravamudan Srinivas