Henry Box Brown : from slavery to show business / Kathleen Chater.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chater, Kathleen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fugitive slaves--Great Britain--Biography.

Fugitive slaves.

African Americans--Great Britain--Biography.

African Americans.

African American abolitionists--Great Britain--Biography.

African American abolitionists.

Fugitive slaves--United States--Biography.

African American entertainers--Great Britain--Biography.

African American entertainers.

Brown, Henry Box, 1815 or 1816-.

Brown, Henry Box.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 259 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2020]

Summary:

"Henry Box C is well-known in America for remarkably escaping slavery by being nailed up in a box and posted from Virginia to Philadelphia. The passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 made it unsafe for Brown to remain in America so he relocated to England. There, he had a very successful career, initially as a speaker on abolitionism, before he began speaking on other subjects and then branched out into other forms of entertainment including as a magician. He married again to Jane Floyd, who, along with their children, appeared in his acts. With his wife and surviving children, he returned to America in 1875 finally moving to Canada, where he died. This book tells his story, concentrating on the relatively unknown period of his life in Britain, detailing both how he was received and how he developed as a performer. It is the biography of a brave, intelligent individualist who was always willing to learn and to take chances, becoming the first black man to achieve landmarks in British law and entertainment." Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-253) and index.

ISBN:

1-4766-3943-4