Uncle Tom's Cabin

Editedand with an Introduction and Notes by Dr Keith Carabine. University of Kent at Canterbury. Uncle Tom's Cabin is the most popular, influential and controversial book written by an American. Stowe's rich, panoramic novel passionately dramatises why the whole of America is implicated in and responsible for the sin of slavery, and resoundingly concludes that only 'repentance, justice and mercy' will prevent the onset of 'the wrath of Almighty God!'. The novel gave...

This startlingly raw tale of a man and boy sold into slavery and the hardships they face was one of the first to address the subject of slavery and what it truly meant. Stowe's controversial novel combines an overarching focus on the movement against slavery and Christianity with an adventurous, yet tragic storyline and memorable characters, and is as poignant today as it was 150 years ago.

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...

Published in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel was a powerful indictment of slavery in America. Describing the many trials and eventual escape to freedom of the long-suffering, good-hearted slave Uncle Tom, it aimed to show how Christian love can overcome any human cruelty. Uncle Tom’s Cabin has remained controversial to this day, seen as either a vital milestone in the anti-slavery cause or as a patronising stereotype of African-Americans, yet it played a crucial role in the eventual...

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 19th century. Centred upon the long-suffering Uncle Tom, a devout Christian slave who endures cruelty and abuse from his owners, he is often celebrated as the first black hero in American fiction who refuses to obey his white masters. With other...