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Austin Steward (1793¿1869) was an African-American author and abolitionist. Born into slavery, he managed to escape from Virginia aged 21 and moved to Rochester, New York before settling in Canada. ¿Twenty-Two Years a Slave - And Forty Years a Freeman¿ is Steward's astonishing 1856 autobiography within which he recounts the travails of his harrowing life as a slave in America, as well as his experiences as a free man. A compelling and heart-breaking slave narrative that will appeal to those with an interest in this dark chapter of American history. Contents include: ¿Slave Life on the Plantation¿, ¿At the Great House¿, ¿Horse-Racing and its Consequences¿, ¿Journey to our New Home in New York¿, ¿Incidents at Sodus Bay¿, ¿Removal from Sodus to Bath¿, ¿Dueling¿, ¿Horse-Racing and General Training¿, ¿Death Bed and Bridal Scenes¿, ¿Hired out to a New Master¿, etc. Read & Co. History is proud to be republishing this classic memoir now in a new edition with an introductory poem by Phillis Wheatley.
A propos de l'auteur
Austin Steward was an African-American abolitionist, author, and former slave, born in 1793 in Prince William County, Virginia. As a young child, Steward was enslaved but was moved to New York State at the age of seven with the household of Captain William Helm. The family settled in Bath, New York, in 1803, where Steward lived and worked. His early experiences in slavery and the transition to freedom deeply shaped his later activism and writings. After gaining his freedom, Steward became an outspoken advocate for the abolition of slavery and worked tirelessly to promote the rights of African Americans. His most notable work, Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman, chronicles his life as a slave and his subsequent experiences as a free man. Throughout his life, Steward remained committed to the cause of equality and social justice, contributing to the broader abolitionist movement. He died on February 15, 1869, in Canandaigua, New York, at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy as both a witness to the horrors of slavery and a passionate voice for its end.
