Truth Stranger Than Fiction
Trade Paperback
Father Henson's Story of His Own Life
Truth Stranger Than Fiction: Father Henson s Story of His Own Life stands as a remarkable narrative on its own merits, but even more significant is its relationship to Harriet Beecher Stowe s Uncle Tom s Cabin. It is strange that the inspiration for a character whose name is a contemporary curse is based on an escaped slave, one-time soldier, preacher, founder of an independent black settlement, and slave-narrative writer. Unlike Stowe s derivative character, Henson seized his freedom, made a life for himself in Canada, and freed fellow slaves before publishing his life story and taking the cause of the slaves and fugitives to England and before Queen Victoria herself.
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- ISBN: 9781435108387
- Author: Josiah Henson
- Pub date: 31.12.08
- RRP: $19.99
- Format: Paperback / softback
Author
Josiah Henson
Born in Maryland in 1789, Josiah Henson saw his father maimed and beaten for opposing the attempted rape of his mother and sold South to Alabama. During his youth, Henson caused the dismissal of an overseer, and assumed the position himself. In 1830, fearful for the welfare of his family, he embarked on a perilous escape to Canada. Active in the Underground Railroad, he brought more than a hundred fellow slaves to Canada. Henson later served as an officer in a company of colored volunteers during the 1837 Canadian Rebellion, was greeted in audience by Queen Victoria, and received by President Rutherford B. Hayes.