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As a novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin was reviewed by many papers and magazines; if you want, you can read a set of those reviews HERE. But during the first years after its publication, the extraordinary popularity of Stowe's novel and the strong political, economic and regional feelings and interests that were attached to the subjects of slavery and abolition made the book news as well as novel. Gathered here is a small sampling of the stories and articles Stowe's story generated. I was thinking of 21st century preoccupations as well as 19th century ones when I chose them; for example, two of the most frequently reported episodes — Stowe's quarrel with Rev. Joel Parker about his appearance in her text, and the British and European reception of Stowe when she traveled there in 1852-1853, aren't represented at all — and stories on some other subjects, including the novel's representation of colonization and the many "anti-Tom" novels that quickly began appearing, will come up later in our semester. If you want to look through the more than 500 articles from 1851 to 1865 in the archive for yourself, use the last link below. |