Frederick Douglass
14 July 2017
Description
"A masterpiece….[W]ill rightfully assume its place as the standard biography of a truly great figure in the nation’s past." —New York Newsday
Born into but escaped from slavery, Frederick Douglass—orator, journalist, autobiographer; revolutionary on behalf of a just America—was a towering figure, at once consummately charismatic and flawed. His Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) galvanised the antislavery movement and is one of the truly seminal works of African-American literature. In this Lincoln Prize– winning biography, William S. McFeely captures the many sides of Douglass— his boyhood on the Chesapeake; his self-education; his rebellion and rising expectations; his marriage, affairs, and intense friendships; his bitter defeat and transcendent courage—and re-creates the high drama of a turbulent era.
Reviews
"A detailed, finely written portrait of the imposing 19th-century leader." — David Levering Lewis, The New York Times Book Review
"Stunning... This illuminating portrait dispenses with the myths." — Financial Times
"Absolutely nonpareil…" — Nell Irvin Painter, The Boston Globe
"Compelling... Suggests that the Age of Douglass was this nation’s greatest epoch... What a time. What a book." — Los Angeles Times