North Carolina Slave Narratives: the Lives of Moses Roper, Lunsford Lane, Moses Grandy, and Thomas H. Jones.

North Carolina Slave Narratives: The Lives of" Moses Roper, Lunsford Lane, Moses Grandy, and Thomas H. Jones. Edited by William L. Andrews et al. The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture. (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, c. 2003. Pp. [xiv], 279. $27.50, ISBN 0-8078-2821-1.)

Each of the four narratives in this volume tells "a story of freedom shadowed by almost unbelievable hardship," but they differ dramatically (p. 26). Moses Roper, who lived in North Carolina only briefly, wrote from the perspective of a twenty-one-year-old whose life was marked by family separation and an amazing series of attempted escapes, captures, and sadistic measures intended to prevent further escapes. A single-minded pursuit of freedom, quick thinking, luck, helpers, and light skin resulted in his eventually making it to the North and then to England, where abolitionists first published his story in 1837.

Lunsford Lane was as obsessed with obtaining his freedom as Roper, but Lane's life and his methods varied. Never separated from his family (and never contemplating running away), he was a literate house servant for a prominent Raleigh family and was permitted to earn money and even start businesses on the side. Lane succeeded as much as was possible within the slave system, purchasing both his freedom and a home. Lane eventually discovered, however, that his powerful white patrons could not protect him from a resentful mob or from state laws requiring freedmen to leave North Carolina.

Moses Grandy labored in the Albermarle Sound region, and though not as fortunate as Lane, he too had opportunities to earn money and buy himself. On more than one occasion, though, Grandy was cheated out of his freedom by his masters. Grandy dictated his story to a British abolitionist, describing in a calm, almost dispassionate manner a variety of working and living conditions, patrols, punishments, hunger, the varying character of masters, disappointments in the North, and the difficulty of losing family members and witnessing loved ones experience cruelty.

Thomas H. Jones, a Wilmington slave, displayed an unswerving dedication to both literacy and Christianity despite firm opposition from his master. Jones's narrative provides a detailed view of religious practices, the loss of a wile and children, and the complexity of slave owners' views. Because he added to the original version thirty years later, readers can also observe how the passage of time affected the message Jones wanted to convey.

Each of the four narratives is accompanied by an insightful introduction that analyzes its overt and subtle themes, explains the circumstances of its publication, and posits unique aspects of the slave's story. Because the introductions are written by scholars in the field of English, historians might occasionally wish for slightly different emphases, for more conclusions about the slave experience rather than the expression of the experience, and for more historical context of the institution of slavery and North Carolina slavery in particular. Still, all place the narratives solidly in the African American and abolitionist literary tradition. While the four narratives are not representative, it is quite valuable to have them available in print in one volume. From them, students of North Carolina history can discover much about the diversity of slaves' experiences in the state, especially as related to literacy, manhood, masters, resistance, sympathizers, family, work, and religion.

Elon University

MARY JO FESTLE