Frances Harper’s most famous novel, Iola Leroy (1892), is about a woman who can pass for white but refuses to do so. And Harper was one of the most important black woman activist-authors of the nineteenth century. She was easily as prominent as Frederick Douglass, so the only reason her name isn’t as well known today is that she was a woman. She also remained active in mainstream feminist organizations, commanding the respect of women like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, while calling out the racism she experienced in those circles.
This novel, which was re-printed 4 times in its first 4 years of existence, follows the life of the beautiful, light-skinned Iola Leroy to tell the story of black families in slavery, during the Civil War, and after Emancipation. Iola Leroy adopts and adapts three genres that commanded significant audiences in the nineteenth century: the sentimental romance, the slave narrative, and plantation fiction. Written by the foremost black woman activist of the nineteenth century, the novel sheds light on the movements for abolition, public education, and voting rights through a compelling narrative.
This edition engages the latest research on Harper’s life and work and offers ways to teach these major moments in United States history by centering the experiences of African Americans. The appendices provide primary documents that help readers do what they are seldom encouraged to do: consider the experiences and perspectives of people who are not white. The Introduction traces Harper’s biography and the changing critical perspectives on the novel.
For a brief introduction to Harper, see this blog post, listen to this 20-minute WURD Radio interview, or this 40-minute podcast interview.
For more detail on the scholar edition of Iola Leroy, please visit the Broadview Press listing.