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. Written in the 1850s by a runaway slave, THE BONDSWOMAN'S NARRATIVE is a provocative literary landmark and a significant historical even that will captivate a diverse audience. It provides a window into the psychology and perspective of a slave woman.

David Brion Davis, a Yale professor and historican of slavery, said, 'We have relatively few authentic slave narratives, and certainly a novel written by a black woman and former slave is almost sensational.