First published in book form in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin quickly became a bestseller, recognised as a powerful contribution to anti-slavery debates. After more than 150 years, it remains one of the most widely discussed works of American literature. Debra Rosenthal: examines the life and career of Harriet Beecher Stowe sets the novel within its cultural contexts and reprints related documents from the period surveys criticism of the book from publication to the present reprints extracts from reviews and key critical texts annotates crucial passages from the novel, linking them to the contextual and critical materials included elsewhere in the sourcebook suggests directions for further reading. Bringing together a wealth of material with clear critical commentary, Debra Rosenthal offers the ideal starting point for anyone beginning to study this crucial American novel.
