The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself

What it is

This is a slave narrative published in 1849, telling the life story of Josiah Henson, a formerly enslaved man living in Canada. Henson could not yet read or write, so he dictated his story to Samuel A. Eliot, a former Boston mayor known for his anti-slavery views. The book describes in detail Henson's childhood and life under slavery in the American South.

Why it matters

After Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, it became widely believed—and Stowe herself confirmed—that Henson's narrative and life experiences were a major source for her character Uncle Tom. This connection boosted sales of Henson's book enormously and shows how real accounts of enslaved people's lives shaped Stowe's fiction.

Look closer

• Why does the book's introduction insist that the story is 'not fiction, but fact'?
• What does it mean that Henson's words were shaped by someone else's writing?
• How might reading Henson's own account change the way you read Uncle Tom's Cabin?