Clotel

"Clotel" is the story of a slave woman who was allegedly the daughter of Thomas Jefferson. At the time the book was published in 1853, rumors were rife about Jefferson's relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings. We now know, through DNA testing, that those rumors were true -- but the author could......more

There is something audacious and true about this book, however fictional. The first time I came to the sentence calling Clotel the daughter of Thomas Jefferson I felt the boldness of that sentence, and the truth of it, that it was known even in 1853 that Jefferson had children who were slaves. The n......more

2021 Reread review: This is really well done and truly should be required reading in place of Twain across the nation. This includes a lot of true history that serves as a lesson on chattel slavery interspersed with the fictional tale of Clotel and her family. The author really is able to succinctly po......more

The founding text of the African American novelistic tradition follows Clotel, the enslaved daughter of Thomas Jefferson, and her extended family as they battle for freedom in Antebellum America. Like many slave narratives, Clotel details arbitrary violence, religious hypocrisy, and northern ambivale......more

How the actual hell have I never heard of this book before? Clotel: or, the President's Daughter is a masterpiece of historical fiction that rings with historical truth. Based on facts and narratives that William Wells Brown collected on his own journey out of slavery, Clotel unashamedly looks many f......more