WOMAN AGAINST SLAVERY: The Story of Harriet Beecher Stowe

by John Anthony Scott ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1978

Scott's prose is stale, he introduces characters with abrupt life histories from birthdate on, and he reports at boring length on old sermons, debates, and arguments whose terms are not today's. His remarks on Harriet Beecher Stowe's work are no more interesting than you'd expect from someone who calls her ""America's leading literary figure"" of 1852; neither does he bring any insight to the facts of her life or career. For mundane purposes, though, and in the absence of alternatives, the facts are here: young Harriet's subservience to her father and sister; her husband's early encouragement (""you must be a literary woman"") and later annoyance with the fame that was sure to ""spoil"" her; their discouraging poverty and her deep depression after the birth of her fifth child; her grief on losing her oldest son and her conviction that God had punished her by taking the three sons born before she took up her pen against slavery; her ""racist"" advocacy of African resettlement for former slaves; and of course the personal and historical background to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Usable.

Pub Date: March 1, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION