The first American novel to become an international best-seller, Stowe's book charts the paths from slavery to freedom of fugitives who escape the chains of American chattel slavery, and of a martyr who transcends all earthly ties. 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 introduction discusses African responses to Stowe's novel over the last century and a half and its appendices include excerpts from popular slave narratives, Stowe's `The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin', and Frederick Douglass's response to Stowe's model of black martyrdom.
