Published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin brought the abolitionists' message to the public conscience - no woman before or since has so moved America to take action against an injustice. Indeed, Abraham Lincoln greeted Stowe in 1863 as "the little lady who made this big war."
Eliza Harris, a slave whose child is to be sold, escapes her beloved home on the Shelby plantation in Kentucky and heads North, eluding the hired slave catchers. Aided by the underground railroad, Quakers, and others opposed to the Fugitive Slave Act, Eliza, her son, and her husband George run toward Canada.
As the Harrises flee to freedom, another slave, Uncle Tom, is sent "down the river" for sale. Too loyal to abuse his master's trust, too Christian to rebel, Tom wrenches himself from his family. Befriending a white child, Evangeline St. Clare, Tom is purchased by her father and taken to their home in New Orleans. Although Evangeline's father finally resolves to free his slaves, his sudden death places him in the ranks of those who mean well by their slaves but never take action. Tom is sent farther downriver to Simon Legree's plantation, and the whips of Legree's overseers.
Classic nineteenth-century literature can be difficult to read and hear. But this production is an exception. Buck Schirner's characters are so vivid, so well enunciated, that we wish Stowe had created more people for Schirner to give voice to. His characters argue about slavery, lament their fortunes and survive by their wits. He gives each person emotion and depth and reads Stowe's prose with conviction. Indeed, it's hard not to, given the moral force behind her words. The only negative is when Schirner reads in his own voice, which is low and flat. Because of his excellent vocal work, though, the book reminds us that the debate over race and human worth was as vivid in the 1850's as it is today. R.I.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) published her first book, The Mayflower, in 1843. In 1852 she published her bestselling classic, Uncle Tom's Cabin, the first novel to criticize the institution of slavery. She lectured and wrote for twenty-five years.
Digital Rights Information
OverDrive WMA Audiobook
Burn to CD:
Permitted
Transfer to device:
Permitted
Transfer to Apple® device:
Permitted
Public performance:
Not permitted
File-sharing:
Not permitted
Peer-to-peer usage:
Not permitted
All copies of this title, including those transferred to portable devices and other media, must be deleted/destroyed at the end of the lending period.
