Uncle Tom's Cabin
Publisher Description
“Any mind that is capable of a real sorrow is capable of good.”
― Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of the few books that can lay claim to having actually changed the world. Although the American anti-slavery movement had existed at least as long as the nation itself, Stowe’s novel of 1852 galvanized public opinion as nothing had before. The book sold 10,000 copies in its first week and 300,000 in its first year. Its vivid dramatization of slavery’s cruelties so aroused readers that it is said Abraham Lincoln told Stowe her work had been a catalyst for the Civil War.
Today the novel is often labeled condescending, but its characters—Tom, Topsy, Little Eva, Eliza, and the evil Simon Legree—still have the power to move our hearts. Though "Uncle Tom” has become a synonym for a fawning black yes-man, Stowe’s Tom is actually American literature’s first black hero, a man who suffers for refusing to obey his white oppressors. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a living, relevant story, passionate in its vivid depiction of the cruelest forms of injustice and inhumanity—and the courage it takes to fight against them.
This enhanced edition of Stowe’s classic novel includes an image gallery and a link to a free unabridged audio recording of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Berneis gives a bravura performance in the latest audio edition of this classic tale. First published in 1851, Stowe's novel focuses on the stories of two black slaves. The first is young Eliza, who makes a desperate run for freedom when she discovers that her son is about to be sold and taken away from her. The second is Uncle Tom, who is about to be sold by the masters he loves and trusts. Rather than run, he accepts his fate, holding on to his Christian faith to carry him through these tribulations. Both characters long for the peace that would come with the release of their bonds, and both, after much heartbreak, troubles and tears, find that peace, but in very different ways. Berneis is a consummate storyteller. She gives the book's many characters distinct, individual voices that nimbly flow from one line to another. Her reading is simple and easy to listen to, even when the words and situations are disturbing. This is a powerful antislavery book that still resonates, over 100 years since its initial publication, and Berneis is an excellent choice to bring Stowe's provocative novel to life.
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