The Planter's Northern Bride
 Image from The Planter's Northern Bride (1854) | |
| Author | Caroline Lee Hentz |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Plantation literature |
| Publisher | T.B. Peterson Ltd. |
Publication date | 1854 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) & E-book |
| Pages | c. 300 pp |
The Planter's Northern Bride is an 1854 novel written by Caroline Lee Hentz, in response to the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.
Overview
[edit]Unlike other examples of anti-Tom literature (aka "plantation literature"), the title The Planter's Northern Bride is not a pun on Uncle Tom's Cabin, as was the case with Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston (1853).[1]
The novel, unlike previous examples of plantation literature, criticized abolitionism in the United States and how easily anti-slavery organisations such as the Underground Railroad could be manipulated by pro-slavery superiors – a concept previously discussed in Rev. Baynard Rush Hall's earlier anti-Tom novel, Frank Freeman's Barber Shop (1852).[2]
Plot
[edit]The book's main character is Eulalia, a young daughter of an abolitionist from New England and the wife of a plantation owner named Moreland. At first indoctrinated by her father's views on abolitionism, Eulalia initially condemns her husband's use of slaves on his plantation – even though he is behaving benignly towards them – but she soon realises how well off Moreland's slaves truly are.
As time passes, Eulalia also discovers a plot by a group of local abolitionists to stage a large-scale slave rebellion, with aims to "free" the otherwise-content slaves of the plantation and to murder both Moreland and Eulalia, despite their kindness to their slaves.
Publication history
[edit]Hentz's novel was first published in novelised form by T.B. Peterson Ltd. in 1854.[3]
The publishers of Hentz's novel had been responsible for the release of another anti-Tom novel two years previously: The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters by Charles Jacobs Peterson (1852).[4]
References
[edit]- ^ http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PagUncl.html Etext of Uncle Robin...
- ^ "Hall's Frank Freeman". utc.iath.virginia.edu.
- ^ "Hentz Homepage". utc.iath.virginia.edu.
- ^ "The Cabin and Parlor". utc.iath.virginia.edu.
External links
[edit]
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