Truth Stranger Than Fiction (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading)
Father Henson's Story of His Own Life
Biography & Memoir
| Author: | Josiah Henson | ISBN: | 9781411430716 |
| Publisher: | Barnes & Noble | Publication: | September 1, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Barnes & Noble | Language: | English |
| Author: | Josiah Henson |
| ISBN: | 9781411430716 |
| Publisher: | Barnes & Noble |
| Publication: | September 1, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Barnes & Noble |
| Language: | English |
Truth Stranger Than Fiction: Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life stands as a remarkable narrative on its own merits, but even more significant is its relationship to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It is strange that the inspiration for a character whose name is a contemporary curse is based on an escaped slave, one-time soldier, preacher, founder of an independent black settlement, and slave-narrative writer. Unlike Stowe’s derivative character, Henson seized his freedom, made a life for himself in Canada, and freed fellow slaves before publishing his life story and taking the cause of the slaves and fugitives to England and before Queen Victoria herself.
Truth Stranger Than Fiction: Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life stands as a remarkable narrative on its own merits, but even more significant is its relationship to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It is strange that the inspiration for a character whose name is a contemporary curse is based on an escaped slave, one-time soldier, preacher, founder of an independent black settlement, and slave-narrative writer. Unlike Stowe’s derivative character, Henson seized his freedom, made a life for himself in Canada, and freed fellow slaves before publishing his life story and taking the cause of the slaves and fugitives to England and before Queen Victoria herself.
