The Bondswoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This audiobook is framed by a forward from and then interview with editor and discoverer Henry Louis Gates, Jr. of what he purports to be an unprecedented historical and literary event, possibly the first novel by a black woman anywhere, maybe even a female former African-American slave. The story itself is part Gothic ghost tale, melodramatic adventure novel and in other ways very period although parts come across as modern and innovative to me.
Personally, I felt the book was more likely written by an educated white novelist with abolitionist leanings and slavery primary sources, but he research and argument of the added interview makes a compelling case for Gates' view.
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