Harriet Beecher Stowe – författare

Onkel Toms stuga (1852) är en skildring av slaveriet i USA utifrån slavarnas perspektiv. De grymma och omänskliga förhållandena torde inte lämna någon läsare oberörd. I första hand får man följa huvudkaraktären Tom, men även andra karaktärer och parallella historier vävs samman på ett skickligt vis. Boken var en riktig bestseller på sin tid; den mest sålda romanen i USA under 1800-talet. Onkel Toms stuga är en bok som alla borde läsa. Det är snudd på obligatorisk läsning. Boken var mycket inflytelserik gällande inbördeskrigets utbrott och slaveriets avskaffande. När president Abraham Lincoln mötte författarinnan år 1862 lär han ha sagt: "Så du är den lilla damen som startade det stora kriget." Jean Fredrik Rossanders fina översättning har redigerats och bearbetats. Bland annat har samtliga försvenskade personnamn återställts till original och även alla fraser på andra språk. Avbrottsmarkörer har korrigerats för att överensstämma med originaltexten. Författarens kursiveringar har återställts. Ett fåtal oöversatta passager har översatts och lagts in. Som en extra bonus har Hammatt Billings illustrationer från 1852 års originalupplaga infogats. Sammantaget är detta troligtvis den mest trogna versionen på svenska och dessutom helt oavkortad. Det förekommer ett stötande och otidsenligt språkbruk i boken. Detta är en del av bokens kontext och samhällskritik, vilket gör att man inte bara kan redigera bort det utan att göra för stort våld på författarens verk. Det ska helst vara autentiskt.

HarperCollins is proud to present our range of timeless literary classics.‘One thing is certain, – that there is a mustering among the masses, the world over; and there is a dis irae coming on, sooner or later.’Viewed by many as fuelling the abolitionist movement of the 1850s and laying the groundwork for the Civil War, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s sentimental and moral tale of slaves attempting to secure their freedom was one of the most popular books of the nineteenth century. Centred round the long-suffering Uncle Tom, a devout Christian slave who endures cruelty and abuse from his owners, Tom is often celebrated as the first black hero in American fiction who refuses to obey his white masters. With other strong protagonists such as Eliza, a courageous slave who flees to the North with her son when she learns that he is to be sold, Beecher Stowe highlighted the plight of southern slaves and the breaking up of black families. Not without its controversy, more recent criticism has suggested that the novel contributed negatively to the stereotyping of the black community.

Beecher Stowe’s vivid descriptions uncover the harrowing situations faced by slaves in Civil War America.When a Kentucky farmer faces financial ruin, he reluctantly sells his slaves, and Uncle Tom finds himself the property of a cruel plantation owner, fighting for his freedom and ultimately, for his right to live. With a rich narrative and wonderfully realised characters, this is a panoramic, incredibly accomplished work. Originally published to much acclaim in 1852, it quickly established Harriet Beecher Stowe as one of America’s most influential female novelists and was crucial in helping to secure the abolition of slavery.

Mary Scudder lives with her widowed mother and their boarder, Dr. Hopkins, a Calvinist minister who is dedicated to helping the slaves arriving at Newport. Mary admires Hopkins but is in love with the passionate and sceptical James Marvyn who, hungry for adventure, sets sail for exotic destinations.

`So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!' These words, said to have been uttered by Abraham Lincoln, signal the celebrity of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The first American novel to become an international best-seller, Stowe's novel charts the progress from slavery to freedom of fugitives who escape the chains of American chattel slavery, and of a martyr who transcends all earthly ties. At the middle of the nineteenth-century, the names of its characters - Little Eva, Topsy, Uncle Tom - were renowned. A hundred years later, `Uncle Tom' still had meaning, but, to Blacks everywhere it had become a curse. This edition firmly locates Uncle Tom's Cabin within the context of African-American writing, the issues of race and the role of women. Its appendices include the most important contemporary African-American literary responses to the glorification of Uncle Tom's Christian resignation as well as excerpts from popular slave narratives, quoted by Stowe in her justification of the dramatization of slavery, Key to Uncles Tom's Cabin.

When Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852 it caused a sensation. Its antislavery position proved to be one the most powerful cultural influences behind the Civil War. By emphasizing the moral failure inherent in slavery, it helped intensify the conflict between north and south. By the end of the year it had sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. and more than a million abroad. It went on to be the nineteenth century's worldwide bestseller. To capitalize on the book's success the publisher released a lavishly illustrated gift version for the Christmas season. Widely known as the "Splendid Edition," the deluxe offering included over one hundred detailed engravings by Hammatt Billings, who had done six pictures for the original printing. The artfully integrated illustrations amplify the book's abolitionist ideas and capture its historical moment, lending the narrative a moving immediacy. Reissued for the first time, this facsimile edition gives general readers the chance to experience Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic in this most revealing form. It includes a substantial introduction by Bancroft-winning historian David S. Reynolds that situates the novel within the world of ideas and images operative at the time.

This Norton Critical Edition includes: The 1852 first book edition, accompanied by Elizabeth Ammons's preface, note on the text, and explanatory annotations.Twenty-two illustrations.A rich selection of historical documents on slavery and abolitionism.Seventeen critical reviews spanning more than 160 years.A Chronology, A Brief Time Line of Slavery in America, and an updated Selected Bibliography.About the Series Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format-annotated text, contexts, and criticism-helps students to better understand, analyze, and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.

Part of the Norton Library seriesThe Norton Library edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin features the text of the 1852 edition, including original woodcut illustrations. An introduction by Susan M. Ryan takes a lively and incisive look at the novel’s historical and religious contexts, its political influence as well as its limits, and why Uncle Tom’s Cabin—with all its controversies—endures as an American classic.The Norton Library is a growing collection of high-quality texts and translations—influential works of literature and philosophy—introduced and edited by leading scholars. Norton Library editions prepare readers for their first encounter with the works that they’ll re-read over a lifetime.Inviting introductions highlight the work’s significance and influence, providing the historical and literary context students need to dive in with confidence.Endnotes and an easy-to-read design deliver an uninterrupted reading experience, encouraging students to read the text first and refer to endnotes for more information as needed.An affordable price (most $10 or less) encourages students to buy the book and to come to class with the assigned edition.About the Editor: Susan M. Ryan is Professor of English and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Louisville. She is the author of The Grammar of Good Intentions: Race and the Antebellum Culture of Benevolence (2003) and The Moral Economies of American Authorship: Reputation, Scandal, and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Marketplace (2016).

Banned in the South for its powerful antislavery message, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe sparked outrage and censorship over its portrayal of the brutality of slavery. Dover's Banned Books series explores the abolitionist novel's legacy, censorship history, and enduring impact.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's second antislavery novel was written partly in response to the criticisms of ""Uncle Tom's Cabin"" (1852) by both white Southerners and black abolitionists. In ""Dred"" (1856), Stowe attempts to explore the issue of slavery from an African American perspective. Through the compelling stories of Nina Gordon, the mistress of a slave plantation, and Dred, a black revolutionary, Stowe brings to life conflicting beliefs about race, the institution of slavery, and the possibilities of violent resistance. Probing the political and spiritual goals that fuel Dred's rebellion, Stowe creates a figure far different from the acquiescent Christian martyr Uncle Tom. In his introduction to the classic novel, Robert S. Levine outlines the antislavery debates in which Stowe had become deeply involved before and during her writing of ""Dred"". Levine shows that in addition to its significance in literary history, the novel remains relevant to present-day discussions of cross-racial perspectives.

The American Womans Home, originally published in 1869, was one of the late nineteenth centurys most important handbooks of domestic advice. The result of a collaboration by two of the eras most important writers, this book represents their attempt to direct womens acquisition and use of a dizzying variety of new household consumer goods available in the postCivil War economic boom. It updates Catharine Beechers influential Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841) and incorporates domestic writings by Harriet Beecher Stowe first published in The Atlantic in the 1860s. Today, the book can be likened to an anthology of household hints, with articles on cooking, decorating, housekeeping, child-rearing, hygiene, gardening, etiquette, and home amusements. The American Womans Home, almost a bible on domestic topics for Victorian women, illuminates womens roles a century and a half ago and can be used for comparison with modern theories on the role of women in the home and in society. Illustrated with the original engravings, this completely new edition offers a lively introduction by Nicole Tonkovich and notes linking the text to important historical, social, and cultural events of the late nineteenth century