Escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returns to Virginia disguised as a white man in order to rescue her daughter, Mary, a slave in her father’s house. The Virginian who buys Clotel falls in love with her, gets her pregnant, seems to promise marriage-then sells her. The story begins with the auction of his mistress, here called Currer, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. Brown had escaped from slavery in Kentucky while still in his youth, and became active on the anti-slavery circuit.įor further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.įor more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. It is considered to be the first novel written by an African American.īrown used the injustices of slavery to demonstrate the destructive effects it had on the African American family, most significantly the so-called tragic mulatto.

Brown was still considered someone else's legal property within the borders of the United States at the time of its publication. It gained notoriety amid the unconfirmed rumors regarding Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. The separation of these three women is just the beginning of the injustices they face. Clotel is bought by her lover Horatio Green. In the end, Currer and Althesea are auctioned to the notorious slave trader, Dick Walker. Because she was beautiful and the mistress of Jefferson, Currer and her daughters lived a confortable life, this changed when her master passes away. In the novel, Currer is the former mulatto mistress of President Thomas Jefferson who together have two daughters, Althesea and Clotel. It is about the tragic lives of Currer, Althesea, and Clotel. This novel focuses on the difficult lives of mulattoes in America and the 'degraded and immoral condition of the relation of master and slave in the USA' (Brown). It is often considered the first African-American novel. LibriVox recording of Clotel, or, The President's Daughter, by William Wells Brown.Ĭlotel or, The President's Daughter is a novel by William Wells Brown (1815-84), a fugitive from slavery and abolitionist and was published in London, England in December 1853.

Clotel by william wells brown