Uncle Tom's Cabin

Since 1980, Uncle Tom’s Cabin has re-entered the literary canon, and it is now a staple of American literature courses everywhere. * New York Times *If you want a heart-wrenching book that explores one of the greatest evils of humanity, whilst still retaining a small piece of hope for change, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is for you * Guardian *

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1811, the seventh child of a well-known Congregational minister, Lyman Beecher. The family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she met and married Calvin Stowe, a professor of theology, in 1836. Living just across the Ohio River from the slave-holding state of Kentucky, and becoming aware of the plight of escaping slaves, led her to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in book form in 1842. She wrote the novel amidst the difficulties of bringing up a large family of six children. The runaway success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin made its author a well-known publish figure. Stowe died in 1896.