About this Event
In our Expand-the-Canon book club hosted by bookseller Valerie Hsu, we read and discuss works that are considered classics today, but might be excluded from standard curricula or reading lists because of subject matter, personal identities of their authors, societal reactions at publication, etc. In other words, we read influential texts that you could have read in a high school English class but probably didn’t because of racism, sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, colonialism, eurocentrism, etc. etc. in how our educational systems operate.
If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I’m embarrassed I’ve never read ____” or “Why didn't anyone tell me about ___?” or “I was too young to appreciate ___ and I’d like to re-read it as an adult,” we’re here to help you out. Fill in your reading gaps with these classics you might have missed, and come discuss with us on the first Tuesdays each month.
This month, we’ll meet on Tuesday, February 2 to discuss The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Crafts.
About The Bondwoman's Narrative:
Thought to be the first novel written by a Black female slave in the 1850's, this work is both a historically important literary event and a gripping autobiographical story.
When her master is betrothed to a woman who conceals a tragic secret, Hannah Crafts, a young slave on a wealthy North Carolina plantation, runs away in a bid for her freedom up North. Pursued by slave hunters, imprisoned by a mysterious and cruel captor, held by sympathetic strangers, and forced to serve a demanding new mistress, she finally makes her way to freedom in New Jersey. Her compelling story provides a fascinating view of American life in the mid-1800s and the literary conventions of the time.
The Bondswoman's Narrative is a provocative literary landmark and a significant historical event that will captivate audiences.
The Bondwoman's Narrative is available for purchase here!
Event venue & nearby stays
Greedy Reads Remington, 320 West 29th Street, Baltimore, United States
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