Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave

In this autobiography, published in 1847, William Wells Brown details his life of slavery in Missouri. He describes in horrid detail the punishments and tortures doled out on a daily basis on the farm where he was kept captive.

Brown's journey through various owners took him from the farm to the steamboat, where he participated in the slave trade itself, ferrying humans like cattle to the slave market in New Orleans. Eventually, he made his way to freedom, with the help of Wells Brown, whose name he later took.

Students of history and anyone interested in true-life adventures will get caught up in Brown's moving account from one of the most troubling times in American history.


Born into slavery, American author WILLIAM WELLS BROWN (1814-1884) escaped to the North where he became a prominent abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright, and historian. His novel, Clotel: or, The President's Daughter, is considered by historians to be the first novel written by an African American. His other works include The Negro in the American Rebellion and The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom.