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Originally published in 1897, "Thirty Years a Slave" is a first person account of life as a slave written by Louis Hughes (1832-1913), an American-born slave belonging to a plantation owner in Charlottesville, Virginia. Having learned to read and write in secret, Hughes wrote... Read Full Overview

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely... Read Full Overview

Thirty Years a Slave: From Bondage to Freedom by Louis Hughes. Louis Hughes was born in Virginia (1832), but was sold (1844) in the Richmond slave market to a cotton planter and his wife who lived on the Mississippi River. Later, he traveled with them to their new home in Memphis,... Read Full Overview

Self-educated and eloquent, Hughes wrote and privately published this memoir in 1897. It is a compelling account, by turns searing and compassionate about slavery, slaves, and slave owners. CHAPTER I. LIFE ON A COTTON PLANTATION. BIRTH - SOLD IN A RICHMOND SLAVE PEN. A SLAVE... Read Full Overview

Louis Hughes was born a slave in Virginia and at age 12 was sold away from his mother, whom he never saw again. After a few interim owners, he was sold to a wealthy slaveowner who had a home near Memphis and plantation nearby in Mississippi. Hughes lived there as a house servant... Read Full Overview

I was born in Virginia, in 1832, near Charlottesville, in the beautiful valley of the Rivanna river. My father was a white man and my mother a negress, the slave of one John Martin. I was a mere child, probably not more than six years of age, as I remember, when my mother, two... Read Full Overview

Thirty Years a Slave From Bondage to Freedom: The Institution of Slavery as Seen on the Plantation and in the Home of the Planter: Autobiography of Louis Hughes, is a classical and a rare book, that has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this... Read Full Overview

Reproduction of the original: Thirty Years A Slave by Louis Hughes

""Thirty Years A Slave From Bondage To Freedom"" is an autobiography written by Louis Hughes, a former slave who spent thirty years of his life in bondage before finally achieving his freedom. The book provides a vivid and detailed account of slavery as it existed in the American... Read Full Overview

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections
such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact,
or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe... Read Full Overview