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Clotel or, The President's Daughter
The first novel published by an African American, Clotel takes up the story, in circulation at the time, that Thomas Jefferson fathered an illegitimate mulatto daughter who was sold into slavery. Powerfully reimagining this story, and weaving together a variety of contemporary source materials, Brown fills the novel with daring escapes and encounters, as well as searing depictions of the American slave trade. An innovative and challenging work of literary invention, Clotel is receiving much renewed attention today.
William Wells Brown, though born into slavery, escaped to become one of the most prominent reformers of the nineteenth century and one of the earliest historians of the black experience. This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition reproduces the first, 1853, edition of Clotel and includes, as did that edition, his autobiographical narrative, "The Life and Escape of William Wells Brown," plus newly written notes.
William Wells Brown, though born into slavery, escaped to become one of the most prominent reformers of the nineteenth century and one of the earliest historians of the black experience. This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition reproduces the first, 1853, edition of Clotel and includes, as did that edition, his autobiographical narrative, "The Life and Escape of William Wells Brown," plus newly written notes.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 1853
About the author
William Wells Brown
124 books47 followersWilliam Wells Brown was a prominent African-American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. Born into slavery in the Southern United States, Brown escaped to the North in 1834, where he worked for abolitionist causes and was a prolific writer. His novel Clotel (1853) is considered the first novel written by an African American; it was published in London, where he was living at the time. Brown was a pioneer in several different literary genres, including travel writing, fiction, and drama. He has a school named after him in Lexington, Kentucky and was among the first writers inducted to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.
Lecturing in England when the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law was passed in the US, which required people in the North to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, Brown stayed for several years to avoid the risk of capture and re-enslavement. After his freedom was purchased by a British couple in 1854, he and his family returned to the US, where he rejoined the abolitionist lecture circuit. A contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by the charismatic orator and the two feuded publicly.
Lecturing in England when the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law was passed in the US, which required people in the North to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves, Brown stayed for several years to avoid the risk of capture and re-enslavement. After his freedom was purchased by a British couple in 1854, he and his family returned to the US, where he rejoined the abolitionist lecture circuit. A contemporary of Frederick Douglass, Wells Brown was overshadowed by the charismatic orator and the two feuded publicly.
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November 7, 2013
"Clotel" is the story of a slave woman who was allegedly the daughter of Thomas Jefferson. At the time the book was published in 1853, rumors were rife about Jefferson's relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. We now know, through DNA testing, that those rumors were true -- but the author could only go on supposition.
However, Brown's narrative is well-informed for a variety of reasons. Not only is this the first historical novel written by an African-American; Brown was an escaped slave living in London when he wrote and published the tale. His book not only relies on his story-telling skills (this book is far less preachy than Uncle Tom's Cabin, despite the similar subject matter) but also on contemporary documents such as newspaper articles, first-person accounts and so on to create his tale.
Clotel, along with her sister Althesa and their mother, Currer, is sold in the slave markets after her master's death. We see the story arcs for all three characters as they go through hurdle after hurdle trying to reunite. The story is gripping, moving, and well-written. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of primary sources as additional atmosphere.
Those who enjoy classic historical novels would do well to investigate this book.
However, Brown's narrative is well-informed for a variety of reasons. Not only is this the first historical novel written by an African-American; Brown was an escaped slave living in London when he wrote and published the tale. His book not only relies on his story-telling skills (this book is far less preachy than Uncle Tom's Cabin, despite the similar subject matter) but also on contemporary documents such as newspaper articles, first-person accounts and so on to create his tale.
Clotel, along with her sister Althesa and their mother, Currer, is sold in the slave markets after her master's death. We see the story arcs for all three characters as they go through hurdle after hurdle trying to reunite. The story is gripping, moving, and well-written. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of primary sources as additional atmosphere.
Those who enjoy classic historical novels would do well to investigate this book.
January 30, 2019
There is something audacious and true about this book, however fictional. The first time I came to the sentence calling Clotel the daughter of Thomas Jefferson I felt the boldness of that sentence, and the truth of it, that it was known even in 1853 that Jefferson had children who were slaves. The novel is not a novel in the strictest sense since much of it seems culled from the news and then re-enacted with fictional characters, something like a History Channel documentary will use scenes with actors in their documentaries to portray true events. Each short chapter reads as an episode culled from the news that was contemporary to the novel's publication. The use of fiction to portray real events is done very skillfully here, for example in a scene where the hypocrisy of a white slaveowner reading only those portions of the bible to his slaves that support their bondage is fully revealed, as well as the slaves' full understanding of that hypocrisy. Or when a white mistress comprehends for the first time that a slave's child looks like her husband. The discomfort of both white slaveowners and their darker-skinned slaves at the very existence of light- or white-skinned slaves is difficult to read about, but feels true as well. There are scenes written with great compassion, and sometimes with great brutality, of how slaves tried to escape, and how they were captured and punished for their attempt to escape. Heartbreaking, wrenching, revealing...amazing, especially if as a reader you can let go of the expectations you might have of what a "Novel" is meant to be, and read this instead as a part-indictment, part-historical re-enactment of human lives in the most desperate circumstances.
August 15, 2021
2021 Reread review:
This is really well done and truly should be required reading in place of Twain across the nation.
This includes a lot of true history that serves as a lesson on chattel slavery interspersed with the fictional tale of Clotel and her family.
The author really is able to succinctly point out US hypocrisy in regards to chattel slavery and his views are scathingly accurate.
Brown was invested in colorism in surprising and disappointing ways, with the exception of that issue this holds up well with modern knowledge.
Original review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Other than some use of language that felt dated and dry now, a really good read. Colorism is rampant as the author explores stories of colorism. The author manages to weave true stories in the fictuonal narrative that make the fictional narrative feel real.
This is really well done and truly should be required reading in place of Twain across the nation.
This includes a lot of true history that serves as a lesson on chattel slavery interspersed with the fictional tale of Clotel and her family.
The author really is able to succinctly point out US hypocrisy in regards to chattel slavery and his views are scathingly accurate.
Brown was invested in colorism in surprising and disappointing ways, with the exception of that issue this holds up well with modern knowledge.
Original review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Other than some use of language that felt dated and dry now, a really good read. Colorism is rampant as the author explores stories of colorism. The author manages to weave true stories in the fictuonal narrative that make the fictional narrative feel real.
February 25, 2017
5 FEB 2017 - our Literature of the 19th Century February group read at Yahoo. A good selection for Black History Month, Clotel is written by a man who was both exposed to and personally experienced slavery.
Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2046
Literature of the 19th Century at Yahoo - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/1...
Feel free to join - everyone is welcome!
25 FEB 2017 - William Wells Brown showed me the many faces of slavery and the abominable treatment of slave women in particular. Not a great read and not a bad read, either. Just a story by a man who set out to educate the world about slavery through his own words. Thank you, Mr Wells Brown.
Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2046
Literature of the 19th Century at Yahoo - https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/1...
Feel free to join - everyone is welcome!
25 FEB 2017 - William Wells Brown showed me the many faces of slavery and the abominable treatment of slave women in particular. Not a great read and not a bad read, either. Just a story by a man who set out to educate the world about slavery through his own words. Thank you, Mr Wells Brown.
March 8, 2010
When I read this book for my slave lit class, I was particular affected by the relationship between Clotel and Horatio Green. The “romance” (if you can call it that!) between the two of them both broke my heart and frustrated me to no end! When Green first met Clotel, it seemed like he was sincere in his affections toward her and when he promised to purchase her and make her “mistress of her own dwelling,” this was viewed as a step toward emancipation. Although this initially seemed a lovely courtship, the reader is hit with the reality of the situation after Clotel’s sale at the slave market. “Clotel was sold for fifteen hundred dollars, but her purchaser was Horatio Green. Thus closed a negro sale, at which two daughters of Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of American Independence, and one of the presidents of the great republic, were disposed of to the highest bidder!”
Although the fact that Clotel was a purchased slave definitely detracted from the romantic quality of her relationship with Green, it seemed, at first, like she would be happy in the arms of the man whom she loved. After Green prepared a beautiful little cottage for Clotel, the couple “married”, although not in any legal sense (since that sort of marriage was forbidden by law!). Although “the young couple lived secluded from the world, and passed their time as happily as circumstances would permit,” social realities drew Horatio away from Clotel and sadly his political ambitions led him away from her and into the arms of a white woman whom he could respectfully marry. I felt my heart break along with Clotel’s as she confronted and bid farewell to Horatio. I could feel her pain as she sat “weeping beside a magnolia”…I can’t imagine how I would have reacted if I had been in her situation!
Now, as far as Horatio Green is concerned, my emotions are mixed! On the one hand, I see him as a naïve young man who fell in love with a beautiful woman who could never really be part of his life. He did what was necessary to be with her, in light of the social and political climate of the era. On the other hand, he still didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with slavery as a whole (Since I just completed Chapter 9, I don’t know if this changes later in the book or not – I’m looking forward to seeing what happens). He did not indicate any desire to go against the pervading social beliefs by legally emancipating Clotel and I think he would have gone on seeing her even after he married Gertrude, as indicated by his emotional outburst when Clotel said her final farewell. Although I have to admit that I felt sorry for Green as “the moon looked down upon him mild, but very sorrowfully” and “long and earnestly, he gazed at the cottage, where he so long known earth’s purest foretaste of heavenly bliss,” that sympathy ends when I think that he had choices, if only he were brave enough to make them. Clotel, on the other hand, was unable to make similar choices about her destiny and yet she chose a self-respecting path when she mournfully said goodbye to her lover, despite the potential danger of being sold to another slaveholder.
Although the fact that Clotel was a purchased slave definitely detracted from the romantic quality of her relationship with Green, it seemed, at first, like she would be happy in the arms of the man whom she loved. After Green prepared a beautiful little cottage for Clotel, the couple “married”, although not in any legal sense (since that sort of marriage was forbidden by law!). Although “the young couple lived secluded from the world, and passed their time as happily as circumstances would permit,” social realities drew Horatio away from Clotel and sadly his political ambitions led him away from her and into the arms of a white woman whom he could respectfully marry. I felt my heart break along with Clotel’s as she confronted and bid farewell to Horatio. I could feel her pain as she sat “weeping beside a magnolia”…I can’t imagine how I would have reacted if I had been in her situation!
Now, as far as Horatio Green is concerned, my emotions are mixed! On the one hand, I see him as a naïve young man who fell in love with a beautiful woman who could never really be part of his life. He did what was necessary to be with her, in light of the social and political climate of the era. On the other hand, he still didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with slavery as a whole (Since I just completed Chapter 9, I don’t know if this changes later in the book or not – I’m looking forward to seeing what happens). He did not indicate any desire to go against the pervading social beliefs by legally emancipating Clotel and I think he would have gone on seeing her even after he married Gertrude, as indicated by his emotional outburst when Clotel said her final farewell. Although I have to admit that I felt sorry for Green as “the moon looked down upon him mild, but very sorrowfully” and “long and earnestly, he gazed at the cottage, where he so long known earth’s purest foretaste of heavenly bliss,” that sympathy ends when I think that he had choices, if only he were brave enough to make them. Clotel, on the other hand, was unable to make similar choices about her destiny and yet she chose a self-respecting path when she mournfully said goodbye to her lover, despite the potential danger of being sold to another slaveholder.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2018
How the actual hell have I never heard of this book before?
Clotel: or, the President's Daughter is a masterpiece of historical fiction that rings with historical truth. Based on facts and narratives that William Wells Brown collected on his own journey out of slavery, Clotel unashamedly looks many facets of slavery in the eye and calls them out as the horrors they are. I wish like crazy that this book had been taught to me in school. I learned far more from it than I did from many of the narratives set before me. And it reaches through time to judge America now.
I intend to write more analytically when I can properly collect my thoughts. This book deserves it.
Clotel: or, the President's Daughter is a masterpiece of historical fiction that rings with historical truth. Based on facts and narratives that William Wells Brown collected on his own journey out of slavery, Clotel unashamedly looks many facets of slavery in the eye and calls them out as the horrors they are. I wish like crazy that this book had been taught to me in school. I learned far more from it than I did from many of the narratives set before me. And it reaches through time to judge America now.
I intend to write more analytically when I can properly collect my thoughts. This book deserves it.
Read
January 25, 2022The president referred to in the title? None other than Thomas Jefferson. You see, even the offspring of an American president, and though endowed with fair skin, are still subject to the laws of the land, however reprehensible those may be. Clotel was the daughter of a slave and President Jefferson. In this tale, we follow the merciless miseries visited upon Clotel and her family members, though there is one instance of happiness in the finale, which occurs in France; reason enough to inspire at least an ounce of hope.
While Mr. Brown’s writing is sketchy, Clotel is notable because of its foundational importance to the understanding of the many strains placed on the individual under American slavery. Mr. Brown extends his criticism beyond legislation to include those religious institutions that bowed to, and even encouraged, slavery, a phenomenon that is largely forgotten, I think. We all know about our shameful history, though what enslavement did to the person is further from common awareness. W.E.B DuBois reminded me that those behaviors have aftereffects that can be seen even today, nearly a century and a half following emancipation. Many have long been confused in their conclusions drawn from observing longstanding aberrant social behavior among impoverished American minorities, while the cause often sits in plain view. Mr. Brown wrote, “They boast that America is the ‘cradle of liberty’; if it is, I fear they have rocked the child to death.”
While Mr. Brown’s writing is sketchy, Clotel is notable because of its foundational importance to the understanding of the many strains placed on the individual under American slavery. Mr. Brown extends his criticism beyond legislation to include those religious institutions that bowed to, and even encouraged, slavery, a phenomenon that is largely forgotten, I think. We all know about our shameful history, though what enslavement did to the person is further from common awareness. W.E.B DuBois reminded me that those behaviors have aftereffects that can be seen even today, nearly a century and a half following emancipation. Many have long been confused in their conclusions drawn from observing longstanding aberrant social behavior among impoverished American minorities, while the cause often sits in plain view. Mr. Brown wrote, “They boast that America is the ‘cradle of liberty’; if it is, I fear they have rocked the child to death.”
November 29, 2014
William Wells Brown is an amazing man and author. After having stumbled upon this book, I am sorely disappointed that I have only discovered him now (at age 47 in 2014) - and by accident. I sincerely believe that I should have been introduced to him in public school by the time I was a pre-teen. After reading this work of fiction, as well as biographical information about Brown from other sources, I feel that I have a much broader and deeper understanding of the "slave experience". I also believe that I have a greater understanding of the hurdles abolitionists faced in trying to rid America of the scourge of slavery.
Brown's life-story as well as his work should be part of the mandatory curricula in the American education system. Furthermore, if something must be removed from the education of American students to make room for Brown's work, take out Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and possibly The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while we're at it. The experiences of Clotel and her family provide much more educational substance than either of these two "classics" by Twain with none of the offensive language and behavior of Twain's characters. And, as a bonus for students and teachers, Clotel is a much shorter read.
Brown's life-story as well as his work should be part of the mandatory curricula in the American education system. Furthermore, if something must be removed from the education of American students to make room for Brown's work, take out Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and possibly The Adventures of Tom Sawyer while we're at it. The experiences of Clotel and her family provide much more educational substance than either of these two "classics" by Twain with none of the offensive language and behavior of Twain's characters. And, as a bonus for students and teachers, Clotel is a much shorter read.
April 12, 2019
[read for american lit 1] objectively this is not Great but I had fun reading it and the class discussions were very interesting. we talked a lot about fred moten's paper on mike brown and the function of wwb's plagiarism (which doesn't seem like the right word, but for lack of a better one) and the liminal space of "ex-slave" (formerly enslaved person, I would say now, but, again, limited vocabularies) in a society where one is always vulnerable to being forced back into that particular subject position. it hasn't changed significantly, when you look at prisons, really. in any case, this is a cool book even if it's a little messy. and I really enjoyed each chapter being bookended by unattributed epigraphs and/or amazingly terrible rhyming poetry.
February 13, 2017
Historically significant novel about the lives of slaves, written by a former slave. The author states that this fictional story is based on true incidents, making the book even more emotionally heartbreaking. The plot was a bit confusing at times, as it jumped around to each character's separate storyline, hence my three star rating. I do think it is still worth reading.
August 17, 2023
Of course the book is very different to what we are used to in books today. Apart from the style of writing the book deals with a topic we do not necessarily enjoy: slavery.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
September 22, 2022
It wasn’t really about a Clotel all that much.
The asides to the reader are an odd choice, but interesting and really good.
The asides to the reader are an odd choice, but interesting and really good.
April 29, 2017
The first time I read this book I was a Sophomore in college (mandatory reading). To sum it up, my recollection of the fictional work was that it was simply about a mulatto and the fact that her father was Thomas Jefferson. I recall how in depth the book explored slavery's destructive effects on African-American lives.
What a difference a day.....years and maturity makes. Clotel, was and is, so much more. Clotel is a very tragic story....a stain in America's history that still has repercussions. It depicts the manner in which dark-skinned slaves saw mulattos. It also illustrated the manner in which those in control used the Bible to justify their behavior.
Currar, the mother and her two daughters, Althesa and Clotel, lives were turned upside down once Jefferson died. The slave trade would lead to their separation. Currar would later die of yellow fever and Althesa, passing as a white woman, marries her white master. Horatian Green purchased Clotel and took her as a common wife (since miscegenation was against the law). Mary was an offspring of that union. When Green became involved in politics he abandoned the relationship. He married a white woman who forced him to sell Clotel and enslave Mary.
Clotel would end up in MS. She planned a bold escape; since she could easily pass as white she dressed as a white man and traveled North. Although she had made it to freedom she desired to return to the South for her daughter. Her traveling mate tried to talk her out of returning to the South but to no avail. Slave catchers would finally catch up with her and was cornered she jumped to her death.
Mary would continue to work as a slave for the Greens. The wife eased up on the way she treated her. She, in fact, grew to be very fond of Mary. As she blossomed into a beautiful woman she caught the eye of another slave by the name of George. George would end up in jail and was facing death. Mary's master would allow her to visit him in the evenings. During one of those visits Mary would devise a plan whereas they would trade places.
George would escape and end up in Canada. The Greens would relinquish their rights to Mary. She was purchased by a Frenchman and end up in Canada. Years later, after her husband's death, Mary and George would reunite and eventually marry.
The slave masters, politician and others preached that slavery was the will of the Father. Nevertheless, the grandchildren would not adopt those beliefs. The grandchildren respectfully spoke of God loving all of his children and not sanctioning slavery.
When the grandfather died, a grand daughter, Georgette, changed the manner in which the family's slaves were treated. She helped to free them and even helped her soon-to-be husband see the hypocrisy in its existence.
This work, now that I'm more mature, illustrates that light can penetrate darkness. Yes, hypocrisy still exist...man can still misquote...justify and attempt to rationalize all that he does....but God's word is supreme. And, too, William Wells Brown did an awesome job in showcasing degradation after degradation heaped on a people....as well as the heroic acts undertaken by those same individuals to survive.....and reunite.
What a difference a day.....years and maturity makes. Clotel, was and is, so much more. Clotel is a very tragic story....a stain in America's history that still has repercussions. It depicts the manner in which dark-skinned slaves saw mulattos. It also illustrated the manner in which those in control used the Bible to justify their behavior.
Currar, the mother and her two daughters, Althesa and Clotel, lives were turned upside down once Jefferson died. The slave trade would lead to their separation. Currar would later die of yellow fever and Althesa, passing as a white woman, marries her white master. Horatian Green purchased Clotel and took her as a common wife (since miscegenation was against the law). Mary was an offspring of that union. When Green became involved in politics he abandoned the relationship. He married a white woman who forced him to sell Clotel and enslave Mary.
Clotel would end up in MS. She planned a bold escape; since she could easily pass as white she dressed as a white man and traveled North. Although she had made it to freedom she desired to return to the South for her daughter. Her traveling mate tried to talk her out of returning to the South but to no avail. Slave catchers would finally catch up with her and was cornered she jumped to her death.
Mary would continue to work as a slave for the Greens. The wife eased up on the way she treated her. She, in fact, grew to be very fond of Mary. As she blossomed into a beautiful woman she caught the eye of another slave by the name of George. George would end up in jail and was facing death. Mary's master would allow her to visit him in the evenings. During one of those visits Mary would devise a plan whereas they would trade places.
George would escape and end up in Canada. The Greens would relinquish their rights to Mary. She was purchased by a Frenchman and end up in Canada. Years later, after her husband's death, Mary and George would reunite and eventually marry.
The slave masters, politician and others preached that slavery was the will of the Father. Nevertheless, the grandchildren would not adopt those beliefs. The grandchildren respectfully spoke of God loving all of his children and not sanctioning slavery.
When the grandfather died, a grand daughter, Georgette, changed the manner in which the family's slaves were treated. She helped to free them and even helped her soon-to-be husband see the hypocrisy in its existence.
This work, now that I'm more mature, illustrates that light can penetrate darkness. Yes, hypocrisy still exist...man can still misquote...justify and attempt to rationalize all that he does....but God's word is supreme. And, too, William Wells Brown did an awesome job in showcasing degradation after degradation heaped on a people....as well as the heroic acts undertaken by those same individuals to survive.....and reunite.
November 28, 2012
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book and started to read. I found that I enjoyed the style and the story soon had me on an emotional roller-coaster. Many of the scenes and slave conditions related in the story have been similarly related by others. One particular part started my brain waves storming when invalid and sickly slaves were being collected for a medical school. They were to serve as training cadavers for medical students. Southerners weren't alarmed at this practice but ninety years the same practices shocked the world when they were practiced in concentration camps throughout Europe. William Wells Brown was born a slave (1814) in Lexington, Kentucky and escaped to the North in 1834. He was a prolific writer and abolitionist lecturer. Clotel (1853) was published a year after Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and in my opinion is a more realistic depiction of Southern slave conditions. I am surprised that it is not more widely known and read. It should be on a mandatory reading list for all American students.
August 26, 2020
I thought this book was really well-written and I loved the point it made about the utter incompatibility of Christianity and slavery. It was able to argue a complicated point about how some slaveholders manipulated the Gospel message to encourage their slaves' continued loyalty while others deliberately withheld the Gospel from their slaves completely. He switches between multiple different stories that capture the whole range of slavery and its abuses. In some cases, I thought it was hard to keep up with the different stories and it may have worked better to keep most of the stories self-contained. I liked the decision to keep the story of Clotel and her family as a throughline for this book but I didn't think the other stories needed to be revisited throughout the book in the same way.
April 16, 2009
William Wells Brown's Clotel is noted as being one of (if not the) first African-American novels ever written. The work focuses on the fictional slave mistress of Thomas Jefferson named Currer(modeled closely on the historical Sally Hemmings) and her two daughters, Althesa and Clotel. The work is strange hybrid text that meshes fact with fiction and can be a bit disorienting at times because of that fact. Synchronous temporalities also add to this confusion, but in the end, the novel is a particularly enchanting read and helps to delineate the truth of America's long history of racial inequality.
December 31, 2017
"Clotel"--written in 1853, was the first novel written by an African-American. The author was William Wells Brown who was born a slave in Lexington, Kentucky. The story is about the slave daughter of Thomas Jefferson (yes, rumors were going around even then), but mainly consists of pretty much true to life stories from Brown's life. The book is not smoothly written, but is an amazing achievement and the realities of slave life as depicted by someone who actually was one are grim. Yet we learn the truth.
Brown includes many cogent philosophical arguments about slavery. If times had been different, he would have been a celebrated attorney or professor, so powerful are his skills.
Brown includes many cogent philosophical arguments about slavery. If times had been different, he would have been a celebrated attorney or professor, so powerful are his skills.
June 4, 2008
Probably the first novel written by an African-American. Brown was way ahead of his time, writing a historical novel about Thomas Jefferson's slave daughters and their trials and tribulations. A fluid novel that zips along and is never dull. Good stuff and educational--reinforces many of the abolitionist arguments of the era effectively.
October 1, 2018
First book written by a Black Author. Clotel may be Thomas Jefferson's Daughter. I believe the first slave ships came to Jamestown in the year 1619, 400 years ago. This book will make you think how much the slaves wanted freedom and the lengths they went thru to gain it.
July 6, 2016
Fantastic read, Brown knew how to make his audience care about slavery and how bad it was!
July 19, 2016
Not my favorite book, but historically amazing. Brown wrote this slave narrative in 1853, the first published novel by an African American. Great discussion in one of my book clubs.
February 6, 2017
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NL
August 9, 2022
This is an important book, the first published novel by an African-American writer. The author William Wells Brown is an ex-slave writing from England about the conditions of slavery and publishing it in 1852, before the Civil War.
The novel tells the story of the slave Currer, her two daughters fathered by Thomas Jefferson, Clotel and Althesa, and follows them as they are separated and sold into slavery on the death of Jefferson. Later, the story examines Clotel and Althesa’s daughters. Mary, Jane and Ellen.
Brown intersperses chapters on each of the individual stories with depictions of some horrific stories about slavery and treatises on the evils of slavery. The slavery stories touch on auction procedures, slave revolts, escape attempts and many instances of extreme cruelty to slaves. These stories are important, both for their historical significance and because they come from the perspective of a pre-Civil War ex-slave.
These slavery stories are told in separate chapters as are the tales of Currer and her progeny. The problem with this organization style is that the story felt disjointed, You would read a chapter on one character and then read several chapters about other characters along with several chapters on slavery horror stories before coming back to that character’s story. I found myself often losing track of which slave, Currer, Clotel or Althesa, was where and with which set of white people. That made their stories hard to follow and any tragedies less impactful than intended.
On the positive side, the story text itself was smooth and easy to read. Brown has a simple straightforward style that was far clearer than the story structure.
Overall, despite the positive factors, the poor storytelling technique predominates and results in a novel deserving of a 2-star rating. However, this is a novel that I think should be read and I do recommend it. This novel has too much historical significance to be ignored. Some people might question why they should read a novel that I rate as a 2-star novel. In consideration of this factor, along with the importance of the book’s reported events and the book’s clear and descriptive writing style, I raise my rating of this novel to 3 stars.
The novel tells the story of the slave Currer, her two daughters fathered by Thomas Jefferson, Clotel and Althesa, and follows them as they are separated and sold into slavery on the death of Jefferson. Later, the story examines Clotel and Althesa’s daughters. Mary, Jane and Ellen.
Brown intersperses chapters on each of the individual stories with depictions of some horrific stories about slavery and treatises on the evils of slavery. The slavery stories touch on auction procedures, slave revolts, escape attempts and many instances of extreme cruelty to slaves. These stories are important, both for their historical significance and because they come from the perspective of a pre-Civil War ex-slave.
These slavery stories are told in separate chapters as are the tales of Currer and her progeny. The problem with this organization style is that the story felt disjointed, You would read a chapter on one character and then read several chapters about other characters along with several chapters on slavery horror stories before coming back to that character’s story. I found myself often losing track of which slave, Currer, Clotel or Althesa, was where and with which set of white people. That made their stories hard to follow and any tragedies less impactful than intended.
On the positive side, the story text itself was smooth and easy to read. Brown has a simple straightforward style that was far clearer than the story structure.
Overall, despite the positive factors, the poor storytelling technique predominates and results in a novel deserving of a 2-star rating. However, this is a novel that I think should be read and I do recommend it. This novel has too much historical significance to be ignored. Some people might question why they should read a novel that I rate as a 2-star novel. In consideration of this factor, along with the importance of the book’s reported events and the book’s clear and descriptive writing style, I raise my rating of this novel to 3 stars.
February 28, 2019
This is called the "land of the free, and home of the brave;" it is called the "Asylum of the oppressed;" and some have been foolish enough to call it the "Cradle of Liberty." If it is the "cradle of liberty," they have rocked the child to death.I must admit, closing off Black History Month by finishing a classic such as this has a rewarding feeling to it. This is another edition that I didn't read in full due to my having acquired a collegial text that attempts as holistic as possible contextualization of the main text, so I will be keeping this alongside my similarly enhanced copy of A Voice from the South for future visits. In terms of Brown's writing itself, it is an odd mishmash replete with the freedoms of a less enforced copyright era and some of it appeals while some of it pales. I feel it would have been more successful as a pure ideological tract à la the aforementioned AVftS, but the added attempt at a novel and the salacious rumors, later irrefutably proved as fact, of Thomas Jefferson raping his twenty-six year younger slave mistress and owning her slave children combine into one of the most pristine examples of fact always being stranger than fiction. I will admit, it wasn't the most engaging at times, but it did have some brilliant insights into the murderous hypocrisy conducted on the grand scale of one particular nation's government, and much of the criticisms Brown leveled at the US can well be applied today: sometimes outside the purview of African Americans/black people, sometimes not.
If one of you die, your master loses what he paid for you, while you lose nothing.
One of the disturbing aspects of Ellis' and other historians' quick capitulation to the scientific "facts" is that the historical evidence that helped to support the findings of the scientists had for a long time been readily available. The difference now is that respected white scientists are finally saying that the Hemings descendants have said all along. What has not changed are the hierarchies of knowledge that dictate social truths.The most fascinating thing about this book was the wealth of material, both factual and at that time conjectured, that BRown drew upon to use in his narrative. Form the Declaration of Independence to the Confessions of Nat Turner (the real ones, not that blackface tripe) to short stories written by white women to speeches spoken by none other than Brown himself, the author's source material is a treasure trove of antebellum texts relating to arguments against and, more importantly, for slavery. It's important to understand the theological logic and other moralistically and not so moralistically charged defenses, as well as the legalistic protections encoded on the state and federal level, as those dehumanizing laws and arguments are still put into practice today regarding others coded today as "undesirables" by media both mainstream and fringe and ideological codes formulated by bigots and money grabbers (the exception in the 13th amendment functioning as it does in the private prison business is a perfect example of this). Brown's text does much to showcase these evil justifications by which evil both protects itself and propagates, but his simultaneous effort to work in plot and character development (or lack thereof) weakens the affect the pure rhetoric has, and once the shock over Jefferson's two-faced sexual asault is gone, a lot of the value Brown has to offer is in the texts he cites. As such, I look forward to when I can carve out some time for the nearly 300 other pages of contextual material provided in this volume. Until then, this copy will chill with the rest of its expanded siblings in its own personal stack.
It has been generally observed that despotism increases in severity with the number of despots; the responsibility is more divided, and the claims more numerous...The smaller the number of subjects in proportion to the tyrants, the more cruel the oppression, because the less danger from rebellion. In this government, the free white citizens are the rulers — the sovereigns, as we delight to be called. All others are subjects.Clotel is part of a 100 Must-Read Classics by People of Color list that I'm working my way through, and so far, it's the one I looked forward to the most. Brown's narrative, for all of its awkwardness, is still vitally relevant today as a piece of literature inextricably embedded in the very bloodstream of the United State's shame and chance for redemption, and as such the work is worth bringing into the future, as the truths it has to tell still shock contemporary eyes and ears due to enforced ignorance and propagated frivolity (see "Hamilton" the musical for a perfect example of the latter). It's certainly not the easiest text, but it does do interesting things in the vein of experimental narration, and all the claims of plagiarism can't erase the fact that Brown's very freedom was illegal when he wrote and published this work, so sticking to the letter of the law simply because it is so is a bad move when it comes to a text that flew its flag so blatantly in the face of evil. There are better written works out there that tackle similar issues, but one can't deny that Brown had style.
"I tremble for my country, when I recollect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep for ever. The Almighty has no attribute that can take sides with us in such a struggle."
-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia
But, sad to say, Jefferson is not the only American statesman who has spoken high-sounding words in favour of freedom, and then left his own children to die slaves.
Read
September 24, 2023Kinda disappointed, I wanted to care more about they characters they were super stocky. I think Brown's text would have been more effective had he made his characters feel human.
June 11, 2014
Warning: spoilers.
This was an interesting story. It was jarring at times to read. It's an old book, the first novel published by an African-American, and race and slavery are the main focus, so there was a lot of content that was uncomfortable for a modern reader. Even the opening chapter about "the beauty of quadroons" shocked me, although I think the writer meant it in a good way, and at least "quadroon" is a nicer word than "nigga," which shows up often enough in dialogue. However, the writer is obviously sympathetic to the plight of slaves and free black people in the South - after all, the heroine of the story was born a slave - and that lets me look past the occasional jarring word that would nowadays be considered an insult.
Besides, there are so many more shocking and horrible stories in these pages - families separated, baby Clotelle forced to work in the hot sun because her new mistress is displeased by how fair she is, floggings, "negro hunts", slave markets - it's full of horrible tales of human cruelty. The author clearly witnessed these things firsthand. After awhile, it's hard to stay shocked - there are so many awful tales, and the suffering described all started to run together as I read.
However, there are heroes too, like the Quakers who stall slave-catchers and help a runaway escape, simply because they believe slavery is wrong, or Clotelle's mother, Isabella, who escapes to free Canada and immediately turns around and goes back to Virginia to try to find her beloved daughter. I was horrified when bad things happened to the protagonists, cheered when they escaped danger, and was on edge when they bravely risked their own safety and freedom for others.
The story comes to a relatively happy ending - while more protagonists die than in a George R R Martin tale, there's still a quiet place of rest for the one who makes it to the end. It's a relatively quick read - I finished it in a couple days. Plus, it's free! You can get it through Project Gutenberg here. I'd recommend it for anyone who's a fan of the hero's journey, or who wants to know more about life in the South during the time before and during the Civil War.
This was an interesting story. It was jarring at times to read. It's an old book, the first novel published by an African-American, and race and slavery are the main focus, so there was a lot of content that was uncomfortable for a modern reader. Even the opening chapter about "the beauty of quadroons" shocked me, although I think the writer meant it in a good way, and at least "quadroon" is a nicer word than "nigga," which shows up often enough in dialogue. However, the writer is obviously sympathetic to the plight of slaves and free black people in the South - after all, the heroine of the story was born a slave - and that lets me look past the occasional jarring word that would nowadays be considered an insult.
Besides, there are so many more shocking and horrible stories in these pages - families separated, baby Clotelle forced to work in the hot sun because her new mistress is displeased by how fair she is, floggings, "negro hunts", slave markets - it's full of horrible tales of human cruelty. The author clearly witnessed these things firsthand. After awhile, it's hard to stay shocked - there are so many awful tales, and the suffering described all started to run together as I read.
However, there are heroes too, like the Quakers who stall slave-catchers and help a runaway escape, simply because they believe slavery is wrong, or Clotelle's mother, Isabella, who escapes to free Canada and immediately turns around and goes back to Virginia to try to find her beloved daughter. I was horrified when bad things happened to the protagonists, cheered when they escaped danger, and was on edge when they bravely risked their own safety and freedom for others.
The story comes to a relatively happy ending - while more protagonists die than in a George R R Martin tale, there's still a quiet place of rest for the one who makes it to the end. It's a relatively quick read - I finished it in a couple days. Plus, it's free! You can get it through Project Gutenberg here. I'd recommend it for anyone who's a fan of the hero's journey, or who wants to know more about life in the South during the time before and during the Civil War.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2014
Brown fell into the trappings of making Clotel a tragic mulatto/quadroon/barely black person tale. It felt at times that he wanted the reader to pity her even more because she looked white. She shouldn't have been enslaved based on her complexion.
However, I did think this book was good and important, not so much for the writing but because he examined the inherent contradictions of slavery in the United States, fictionalized actual historic events from revolts, depictions of escapes and made plain the cruelty of slavery.
Some of the passages I highlighted:
"They boast that America is the 'cradle of liberty;' if it is, I fear they have rocked the child to death."
"You tell me that I am to be put to death for violating the laws of the land. Did not the American revolutionists violate the laws when they struck for liberty? They were revolters,but their success made them patriots -- we were revolters, and our failure makes us rebels. Had we succeeded, we would have been patriots too."
However, I did think this book was good and important, not so much for the writing but because he examined the inherent contradictions of slavery in the United States, fictionalized actual historic events from revolts, depictions of escapes and made plain the cruelty of slavery.
Some of the passages I highlighted:
"They boast that America is the 'cradle of liberty;' if it is, I fear they have rocked the child to death."
"You tell me that I am to be put to death for violating the laws of the land. Did not the American revolutionists violate the laws when they struck for liberty? They were revolters,but their success made them patriots -- we were revolters, and our failure makes us rebels. Had we succeeded, we would have been patriots too."
August 24, 2016
This book is a fascinating novel that follows a fictional lineage of Thomas Jefferson's "illegitimate offspring" and the slave who gave birth the two children. Based in historical events, the novel reinvents a true event- that Jefferson did have children by a slave and that after his death, those children and their mother remained enslaved- and uses it to critique the institution of slavery. Written by William Wells Brown, an ardent abolitionist and fugitive slave, the novel combines autobiographical elements (although a separate autobiographical narrative appears as a foreword to Clotel) with elements taken from other sources. Contextually this novel borderlines into what would be called plagiarism today, but Brown does this in such a way that causes the reader to reinvestigate the texts he borrows from. Brown treats slavery as an ongoing conversation. He does not "kidnap" sources in order to claim as his own, but rather, he takes them so that his readers can connect with a larger dialogue and leave with a new perspective.
May 21, 2011
This book is historically significant. I studied this novel in the African American Women course that I took at Atlanta University from Dr. Farmer. William Wells Brown was ahead of the curve in suggesting that Thomas Jefferson had a black daughter. The theme is one that reoccurs in not only fiction but also in movies(Imitation to Life and Queen. The tragic mulatto was a person who did not life in either the black world or white world; instead,they lived in a type of racial limbo. Also, this book is of historical significance since Brown was the first African American to publish a novel; he also published a slave narrative. Brown escaped slavery from Lexington, Kentucky. In his time he was famous not only as an author but also as an outspoken abolitionist. This book is worth reading for anyone interested in African American Studies.
March 6, 2011
Admittedly it took a while to get into this novel. At first the lack of an ongoing narrative really threw me and i found it very difficult and muddy. However, reading around the text and reading into the subtext revealed an intention of the novel's which, right or wrong, seemed to marry up all of the pints i'd found to be so disparate before. With this framework in place it became much easier to find my way through. It is an incredibly skillfully written book and considering that it is the first published novel by an African-American writer its scathing critique is made even more poignant and the novel is even more of an achievement both literarily and culturally.
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