Biography of an American Bondman, By His Daughter

Josephine Brown's Biography of an American Bondsman faithfully follows the trajectory of her father's life as previously explored in his own narratives. She distills and summarizes the major revelatory moments of his autobiography while she also incorporates new anecdotal information and offers her own perspective on Brown's life. Whereas her biography draws frequently from previously published autobiographical accounts, the narrative style and comic flourishes add interest and value to the text. Andrews observes that her biography's primary contribution to the "lore of William Wells Brown" may be the insight it offers into the rhetorical tactics used by both father and daughter in "their war of words against slavery." (2 hr 32 min)