The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings
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An exciting and often terrifying adventure story, and a precursor to the famous nineteenth-century slave narratives, Equiano's The Interesting Narrative recounts his kidnapping in Africa aged ten, his service as a slave of an officer in the British Navy for ten years, and his life after he bought his freedom in 1766, growing to become one of the foremost figures of the anti-slavery movement in Britain.
The Interesting Narrative is a spirited autobiography, a tale of spiritual quest and fulfillment and a sophisticated treatise on religion, politics and economics.
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An account of the slave trade by a native African, former slave and loyal British subject, The Interesting Narrative is both an exciting, often terrifying, adventure story and an important precursor to such famous 19th century slave narratives as Frederick Douglas's autobiography. Oludah Equiano's Narrative recounts his kidnapping in Africa at the age of 10, his service as the slave of an officer in the British Navy and his years of labour on slave ships until he was able to purchase his freedom in 1766. As a free man on a Central American plantation, he supervised slaves; increasingly disgusted by his co-workers, he returned to England in 1774. In England he worked for the resettlement of blacks in Sierra Leone, married an Englishwoman and became a leading and respected figure in the anti-slave movement. A spirited autobiography, a tale of spiritual quest and fulfilment, a sophisticated treatise on religion, politics, and economics, The Interesting Narrative is a work of enduring literary and historical value.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
AN invidious falsehood having appeared in the Oracle of the 25th,2 and the Star of the 27th of April 1792,3 with a view to hurt my character,4 and to discredit and prevent the sale of my Narrative, asserting, that I was born in the Danish island of Santa Cruz, in the West Indies,5 it is necessary that, in this edition, I should take notice thereof, and it is only needful of me to appeal to those numerous and respectable persons of character who knew me when I first arrived in England, and could speak no language but that of Africa.6 Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
AN invidious falsehood having appeared in the Oracle of the 25th,2 and the Star of the 27th of April 1792,3 with a view to hurt my character,4 and to discredit and prevent the sale of my Narrative, asserting, that I was born in the Danish island of Santa Cruz, in the West Indies,5 it is necessary that, in this edition, I should take notice thereof, and it is only needful of me to appeal to those numerous and respectable persons of character who knew me when I first arrived in England, and could speak no language but that of Africa.6 Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This penguin edition is a recent full critical edition - and therefore the best, I think, - of the current versions of Equiano's Interesting Narrative. It is edited by Vincent Carretta who in a later monograph (Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-made Man) questions the author's claim to have been born and kidnapped in Africa and uses documentary evidence to suggest he might have been born instead in the Caribbean islands.
Equiano's turning to Evangelicalism undoubtedly makes the latter part of the book a more difficult read for those who are less interested in the wider history of the 18thC English-speaking world. But this part of the narrative is perhaps the most fascinating because it meshes so well with other 'conversion' narratives of the day (The Evangelical Conversion Narrative: Spiritual Autobiography in Early Modern England) and helps to place Equiano in the English world of William Wilberforce and John Newton and so to explain why he would come to write such a book in the first place. For this reason, to my mind, no history of England which deals with the latter half of the eighteenth Century should ignore this book.
Equiano's turning to Evangelicalism undoubtedly makes the latter part of the book a more difficult read for those who are less interested in the wider history of the 18thC English-speaking world. But this part of the narrative is perhaps the most fascinating because it meshes so well with other 'conversion' narratives of the day (The Evangelical Conversion Narrative: Spiritual Autobiography in Early Modern England) and helps to place Equiano in the English world of William Wilberforce and John Newton and so to explain why he would come to write such a book in the first place. For this reason, to my mind, no history of England which deals with the latter half of the eighteenth Century should ignore this book.
21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Olaudah Equiano provides an excellent account not just of his life as a slave, but also how an ex-slave was treated in the eighteenth century. He led an extremely eventful life, but had a luckier start than most because he was bought by owners who actually treated their slaves as humans rather than animals. It is made plain in this an other first hand accounts (eg Mary Prince) that these were the exception rather than the rule.
There is always the impression that once a slave obtained his freedom his troubles were over, but Equiano shows us that that was not in fact the case. In many instances he had goods stolen from him by white men in the West Indies and had no recourse to the law in those islands.
He had an adventurous life as a sailor, travelling at one stage on a British Arctic expedition in the bomb-ketch Racehorse, not realising that an obscure midshipman in the companion ship Carcass was to go on to be known as Admiral Lord Nelson!
I was riveted through much of the narrative, but it became turgid at the end as Equiano discovered religion in a big way and the final chapters largely consist of biblical extracts, prayers, and poems about his religious feelings. In his description of his attitude to Christianity, he became insufferable, with an attitude of superiority to his less Christian brethren and an overwhelming concern for the fate of his immortal soul.
I would rate this book more highly if it were not for the final chapters which I consider tedious to all but the extremely religious. Nevertheless, the book is enjoyable and highly educational. I would recommend it to the private reader and as a text for a school history class.
There is always the impression that once a slave obtained his freedom his troubles were over, but Equiano shows us that that was not in fact the case. In many instances he had goods stolen from him by white men in the West Indies and had no recourse to the law in those islands.
He had an adventurous life as a sailor, travelling at one stage on a British Arctic expedition in the bomb-ketch Racehorse, not realising that an obscure midshipman in the companion ship Carcass was to go on to be known as Admiral Lord Nelson!
I was riveted through much of the narrative, but it became turgid at the end as Equiano discovered religion in a big way and the final chapters largely consist of biblical extracts, prayers, and poems about his religious feelings. In his description of his attitude to Christianity, he became insufferable, with an attitude of superiority to his less Christian brethren and an overwhelming concern for the fate of his immortal soul.
I would rate this book more highly if it were not for the final chapters which I consider tedious to all but the extremely religious. Nevertheless, the book is enjoyable and highly educational. I would recommend it to the private reader and as a text for a school history class.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whilst this was a fascinating book, and the authors account vivid, I feel that it lacked its focus towards the end due to his conversion to Christianity. It seemed to make the author forget his horrors and at some parts he was almost thankful to have been a slave because he found God!! I feel this was probably a tactical approach to make readers at the time favour his story and help to abolish slavery, but i felt that it distracted from what it was really about which was the horrors of slavery. I would have loved to seen what became of him, as I felt the book ended rather abruptly. In particular his marriage to a white lady at that period in time. However, it was a good read and a must for all those interested in that period in history. Another book to read would be about Mary Prince, which I feel is more frank.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Nice book - well written - exciting...
This is a great book, and is a great story.
It is strong most of the way through, until he gets a bit too religious and starts preaching his religious philiosphy. Read more
It is strong most of the way through, until he gets a bit too religious and starts preaching his religious philiosphy. Read more
Published on 16 April 2007 by Mr. Richard Bristol
Equiano's Interesting Narrative
A seminal work, and a highly accessible one. The narrative covers the author's life from his kidnapping in west Africa at an early age, through is experiences as a slave-commodity,... Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2006 by Paul Clift
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