Description

Uncle Tom, Topsy, Sambo, Simon Legree, little Eva: their names are American bywords, and them all are characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's remarkable novel of the pre-Civil War South. Uncle Tom's Cabin was revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its presentation of Tom, "a guy of humanity," whilst the first black hero in American fiction. Labeled racist and condescending by some contemporary critics, it remains a shocking, controversial, and powerful work -- exposing the attitudes of white nineteenth century society toward "the peculiar institution" and documenting, in heartrending detail, the tragic breakup of black Kentucky families "sold down the river." An instantaneous international experience, Uncle Tom's Cabin bought 300,000 copies within the first-year, was translated into thirty seven languages, and hasn't gone out-of-print: its political impact was enormous, its emotional influence immeasurable.