slave narrative, Account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave, either written or orally related by the slave himself or herself. A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprising Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man (1760) is often considered the first example. The first slave narrative to become an international best-seller was the two-volume Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), but evidence turned up at the outset of the 21st century suggests that the author was born in South Carolina rather than Africa—i.e., that at least part of the work is not autobiographical. The major period of slave narratives was 1830–60. Some were factual autobiographies, while others were influenced or sensationalized by the writer’s desire to arouse sympathy for the abolitionist cause. The genre reached its height with the autobiography of Frederick Douglass (1845). In the 20th century, documentary narratives were compiled from recorded interviews with former slaves.
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