Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Douglass tells how he was born into slavery, taught himself to read against the law, and escaped north, writing plainly, without ornament, because the plainness was the argument.
Things worth knowing
- Douglass wrote it partly to answer people who insisted that a man of his accomplishments could never have been enslaved.
- Publishing it exposed him as a fugitive; in 1846 English supporters bought his freedom from Hugh Auld, who set his price at £150 sterling.
- In 1846 Douglass toured Scotland demanding that the Free Church of Scotland return the more than £3,000 it had taken from Southern slaveholders; the slogan Send Back the Money was painted across buildings in Scottish cities, and the money was never returned.
Listen, or read along
Every chapter has the recording and the same chapter as text. Open both if you like: the text is the words you are hearing.
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1 Preface 21 min
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2 Letter from Wendell Phillips 7 min
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3 Chapter One 12 min
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4 Chapter Two 12 min
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5 Chapter Three 9 min
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6 Chapter Four 9 min
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7 Chapter Five 10 min
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8 Chapter Six 7 min
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9 Chapter Seven 14 min
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10 Chapter Eight 11 min
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11 Chapter Nine 12 min
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12 Chapter Ten, Part One 26 min
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13 Chapter Ten, Part Two 23 min
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14 Chapter Ten, Part Three 25 min
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15 Chapter Eleven, Part One 22 min
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16 Chapter Eleven, Part Two 22 min
Where this comes from
US public domain: first published 1845, before the 1930 cutoff. Author d.1895, so also clear in life+70 jurisdictions.
Cover image: Book frontispiece, portrait of Frederick Douglass as a younger man, 1855.
Narration: text-to-speech.
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