The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Or Gustavus Vassa, the African : Volume 1

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- An Introduction -- Enslavement -- Witness of history -- Business ventures and freedom -- Emerging abolitionist -- The Narrative -- Equiano the Christian -- Equiano and economics -- The Narrative's Impact -- Aftermath and Legacy -- Further Reading -- Note on the Text -- About Michael Taylor -- About Tom Butler-Bowdon -- The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano -- List of Subscribers -- Contents -- Volume I -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Volume II -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Explanatory Notes -- EULA.

The author's account of his country, their manners and customs, &c. -- The author's birth and parentage ; His being kidnapped with his sister ; Horrors of a slave ship -- The author is carried to Virginia ; Arrives in England ; His wonder at a fall of snow -- A particular account of the celebrated engagement between Admiral Boscawen and Monsieur Le Clue -- Various interesting instances of oppression, cruelty, and extortion -- Favourable change in the author's situation--He commences merchant with threepence -- The author's disgust at the West Indies--Forms schemes to obtain his freedom -- Three remarkable dreams--The author is shipwrecked on the Bahama-bank -- The author arrives at Martinico--Meets with new difficulties, and sails for England -- Some account of the manner of the author's conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ -- Picking up eleven miserable men at sea in returning to England -- Different transactions of the author's life--Petition to the Queen.

The Interesting Narrative is a first-hand account of the horrors of slavery, published on the eve of the British abolition debate in 1789. The most important African autobiography of the 18th century, it recounts Equiano's adventures on land and sea. This edition's introduction surveys recent debates about Equiano's birthplace and identity.

"Published a few days before the British parliament first debated the abolition of the slave trade in 1789, Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative gives the author's account of his enslavement after his childhood kidnapping in Africa, and his journey from slavery to freedom. Equiano was slave to a captain in the Royal Navy, and later to a Quaker merchant, and he vividly depicts the appalling treatment of enslaved people at sea and on land. He takes part in naval engagements, is shipwrecked, and has other exciting adventures on his travels to the Caribbean, America, and the Arctic. Equiano claimed his own freedom and became an important abolitionist, but his Narrative is much more than merely a political pamphlet. The most important African autobiography of the eighteenth century, it has achieved an increasingly central position among the century's great works of literature. The introduction to this edition surveys recent debates about Equiano's birthplace and identity, and considers his campaigning role and literary achievements."--Publisher's description

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano , written in 1789, details its writer's life in slavery, his time spent serving on galleys, the eventual attainment of his own freedom and later success in business. Including a look at how slavery stood in West Africa, the book received favorable reviews and was one of the first slave narratives to be read widely

Edited and with Notes by Shelly EversleyIntroduction by Robert Reid-PharrIn this truly astonishing eighteenth-century memoir, Olaudah Equiano recounts his remarkable life story, which begins when he is kidnapped in Africa as a boy and sold into slavery and culminates when he has achieved renown as a British antislavery advocate. The narrative "is a strikingly beautiful monument to the startling combination of skill, cunning, and plain good luck that allowed him to win his freedom, write his story, and gain international prominence," writes Robert Reid-Pharr in his Introduction. "He alerts us to the very concerns that trouble modern intellectuals, black, white, and otherwise, on both sides of the Atlantic."The text of this Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the definitive ninth edition of 1794, reflecting the author's final changes to his masterwork.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Completely revised and edited with an introduction and notes by Vincent CarrettaAn exciting and often terrifying adventure story, as well as an important precursor to such famous nineteenth-century slave narratives as Frederick Douglass's autobiographies, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative recounts his kidnapping in Africa at the age of ten, his service as the slave of an officer in the British Navy, his ten years of labor on slave ships until he was able to purchase his freedom in 1766, and his life afterward as a leading and respected figure in the antislavery movement in England. A spirited autobiography, a tale of spiritual quest and fulfillment, and a sophisticated treatise on religion, politics, and economics, The Interesting Narrative is a work of enduring literary and historical value.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano , written in 1789, details its writer's life in slavery, his time spent serving on galleys, the eventual attainment of his own freedom and later success in business. Including a look at how slavery stood in West Africa, the book received favorable reviews and was one of the first slave narratives to be read widely...

Nigerian-born Olaudah Equiano (c.1745–97), also known as Gustavus Vassa, was sold into slavery as a child and endured the horrors of the transatlantic slave ships. He later worked on board Royal Navy vessels, receiving an education and converting to Christianity. Buying his freedom in 1766, he embarked on several voyages before settling in London, where he became involved in the causes of anti-slavery and the welfare of former slaves. Published in 1789, this successful two-volume autobiography boosted the abolitionist cause, providing a first-hand account of the experience of Africans on both sides of the Atlantic. An important document in the history of slavery and immigration, it remains a classic work of black writing. Volume 2 recounts how Equiano achieved his freedom, his conversion to Christianity, his experience of shipwreck in the West Indies, and his life in England