Hannah Crafts, The Bondswoman's Narrative

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Nothing is known for sure about Hannah Crafts' life. Her existence can be inferred from the title page of the manuscript of a novel,

The Bondwoman's Narrative

, which carries her name. The name is probably a pseudonym, alluding to the names of William and Ellen Craft, immortalised in their slave narrative,

Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery

, published in London in 1860. The Crafts' narrative became particularly famous because the young couple, also known as “the Georgia Fugitives”, were a handsome pair, both of them inter-racial. Ellen, in particular, was nearly white (the daughter of her first owner and one of his slaves, she was treated cruelly by his white daughter, her second owner). Consequently Ellen could pass for white,…

4823 words

Citation: Ellis, R. J.. "The Bondswoman's Narrative". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16620, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16620 The Bondswoman's Narrative 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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