An updated edition of a classic African American autobiography, with
new supplementary materials
A Penguin Vitae Edition
The preeminent American slave narrative first published in 1845,
Frederick Douglass's Narrative powerfully details the life of the
abolitionist from his birth into slavery in 1818 to his escape to the
North in 1838, how he endured the daily physical and spiritual
brutalities of his owners and driver, how he learned to read and write,
and how he grew into a man who could only live free or die. In addition
to Douglass's classic autobiography, this new edition also includes his
most famous speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" and his
only known work of fiction, The Heroic Slave, which was written, in
part, as a response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Penguin Classics presents Penguin Vitae, loosely translated as "Penguin
of one's life," a deluxe hardcover series featuring a dynamic landscape
of classic fiction and nonfiction that has shaped the course of our
readers' lives. Penguin Vitae invites readers to find themselves in a
diverse world of storytellers, with beautifully designed classic
editions of personal inspiration, intellectual engagement, and creative
originality.