Hannah Crafts
Encyclopedia
Hannah Crafts was an African-American slave in the United States
during the 19th century. She is the author of The Bondwoman's Narrative
, a hand-written manuscript that was discovered in 2002 at the New York Swann Galeries auction house. The work was carefully verified as authentic by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a scholar of 19th century African-American literature and culture. The name Hannah Crafts is thought to be a pseudonym by most critics and the work may be a fictionalized autobiography.
The identity of the author remains a mystery. She appears to be a self-taught writer and may have been born in the 1830s. The writing links her to the North Carolina
slave owner John H. Wheeler
, from whom she may have escaped in 1857. If so, then her real name may be Hannah Vincent, as this name appears in the census records of New Jersey
in 1870 and 1880. Research suggests the book was written some time between 1855 and 1869, although the book's extensive adaptation of Charles Dickens
's novel Our Mutual Friend
suggests that Crafts's novel was likely written after 1865. The surname Crafts may be a tribute to the escaped slaves Ellen and William Craft, dated from 1848.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the 19th century. She is the author of The Bondwoman's Narrative
The Bondwoman's Narrative
The Bondwoman's Narrative is a 2002 bestselling novel set in the mid-nineteenth century by Hannah Crafts, a self-proclaimed runaway slave from North Carolina. The published novel has a preface by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a literary professor at Harvard University, describing the history of its...
, a hand-written manuscript that was discovered in 2002 at the New York Swann Galeries auction house. The work was carefully verified as authentic by Henry Louis Gates Jr., a scholar of 19th century African-American literature and culture. The name Hannah Crafts is thought to be a pseudonym by most critics and the work may be a fictionalized autobiography.
The identity of the author remains a mystery. She appears to be a self-taught writer and may have been born in the 1830s. The writing links her to the North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
slave owner John H. Wheeler
John H. Wheeler
John Hill Wheeler was a politician and historian who served as North Carolina State Treasurer and as United States Minister to Nicaragua ....
, from whom she may have escaped in 1857. If so, then her real name may be Hannah Vincent, as this name appears in the census records of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1870 and 1880. Research suggests the book was written some time between 1855 and 1869, although the book's extensive adaptation of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's novel Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
suggests that Crafts's novel was likely written after 1865. The surname Crafts may be a tribute to the escaped slaves Ellen and William Craft, dated from 1848.