Early Black British writing

About this book

"Early Black British Writing" is the most comprehensive volume of its kind. Featuring native African and African-heritage authors living in Britain and its colonies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this volume represents an unusually wide range of genres and venues. The first two sections -- "Narrative" and "Poetry"--Includes complete texts by Ukasaw Gronniosaw, an African prince; Mary Prince, the first woman to produce a slave narrative; Robert Wedderburn, a radical London activist with Jamaican roots; and generous selections from Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho, Ottobah Cugoano, Phillis Wheatley, the "African Preacher" John Jea, and others. A lively introduction, detailed headnotes for each featured author, a chronology, and a fourth section, "Recent Criticism," provide a wealth of context for this fascinating and long-neglected subject. -- From publisher's description