Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black

By Harriet E. Wilson and P. Gabrielle Foreman

The 1859 novel tracing the life of a mulatto foundling abused by a white family in 19th century New England.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Dec 28, 2004
• ISBN: 9781440649141

Harriet E. Wilson

Harriet E. Wilson (1825-1900) was an African American novelist. Born a free person of color in New Hampshire, Wilson was the daughter of an African American father and an Irish American mother. Following the death of her father, Wilson was abandoned by her mother at the farm of Nehemiah Hayward Jr., who held her as an indentured servant until the age of eighteen. Upon reaching adulthood, Wilson worked as a house servant and seamstress before, in 1851, marrying an escaped slave named Thomas Wilson, who later abandoned her during pregnancy. Although he returned for a brief time, he died at sea soon after, leaving Wilson a widow. She struggled immensely over the next several years to provide for her son, who would die at the age of seven in 1860. During this period, however, Wilson managed to write Our Nig; or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black (1859), which she published anonymously as a means of raising money for her sick child. Now recognized as the first novel published by an African American in the United States, Wilson’s autobiographical work is the only thing she published in her lifetime. After George’s death, Wilson moved to Boston, where she remarried; divorced; and worked as a housekeeper, medium, and lecturer.

Reviews for Our Nig

[grundlecat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wilson's auto-biographical novel is perhaps not great literature, but does keep one's interest and reveals volumes about the society in which she lived. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in our nation's history.