![]() It is a founding text of the African American novelistic tradition, a brilliantly composed and richly detailed exploration of human relations in a new world in which race is a cultural construct. ![]() ![]() A fast-paced and harrowing tale of slavery and freedom, of the hypocrisies of a nation founded on democratic principles, Clotel is more than a sensationalist novel. Escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returns to Virginia disguised as a white man in order to rescue her daughter, Mary, a slave in her father's house. ![]() The Virginian who buys Clotel falls in love with her, gets her pregnant, seems to promise marriage-then sells her. The story begins with the auction of his mistress, here called Currer, and their two daughters, Clotel and Althesa. First published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. An innovative and challenging work of literary invention, Clotel is receiving much renewed attention today. ![]()
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