Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published in 1845; it is a memoir and treatise on abolition written by the famous author and former slave Frederick Douglass. The book includes two introductions by well-known abolitionists: a preface by William Lloyd Garrison, and a letter by Wendell Phillips, both confirming the veracity of the account and the literacy of its author. It is generally considered to be the most famous of a number of abolition narratives written by former slaves in the same era. The narrative describes the events of Douglass’s life over eleven chapters, from his childhood to emancipation. The book was an immediate success and received critical acclaim, also in Europe.