Completely revised and edited with an introduction and notes by Vincent Carretta
An exciting and often terrifying adventure story, as well as an important precursor to such famous nineteenth-century slave narratives as Frederick Douglass's autobiographies, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative recounts his kidnapping in Africa at the age of ten, his service as the slave of an officer in the British Navy, his ten years of labor on slave ships until he was able to purchase his freedom in 1766, and his life afterward as a leading and respected figure in the antislavery movement in England. A spirited autobiography, a tale of spiritual quest and fulfillment, and a sophisticated treatise on religion, politics, and economics, The Interesting Narrative is a work of enduring literary and historical value.
Introduction
Vincent Carretta
A Note on the Text
Acknowledgments
A Note on Money
Suggestions for Further Reading
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself
Explanatory and Textual Notes
Appendix A: The Frontispieces and Title Pages of the First London (1789) and New York (1791) Editions
Appendix B: A Note on the Illustrations
Appendix C: List of Subscribers to the First Edition
Appendix D: List of Subscribers to the New York Edition
Appendix E: Correspondence of Gustavus Vassa, or Olaudah Equiano, Not Published in The Interesting Narrative
Appendix F: The Will and Codicil of Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano)
