Frank Freeman's Barber Shop

Last updated
Frank Freeman's Barber Shop: A Tale
Author Baynard Rush Hall
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Plantation literature
PublisherCharles Scribner Publishers
Publication date
1852
Media typePrint (Hardcover & Paperback) & E-book
Pagesc. 300 pp (May change depending on the publisher and the size of the text)

Frank Freeman's Barber Shop is an 1852 plantation fiction novel written by Baynard Rush Hall.

Contents

Overview

Frank Freeman's Barber Shop is an example of the numerous anti-Tom novels produced in the southern United States in response to the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, which was criticised as inaccurately depicting plantation life as well as the relationship between slaveholders and their slaves. [1]

Hall's novel is among the earliest examples of the genre, and focuses on criticisms of abolitionism and how it can be exploited – a concept later visited in The Planter's Northern Bride by Caroline Lee Hentz (1854). [2]

Plot

The story focuses on a slave named Frank (later Frank Freeman), who is convinced to run away from his peaceful life on a Southern plantation by "philanthropists" (Hall's term for abolitionists), having been promised that freedom would also bring a prestigious career. When Frank comes to the end of his journey, however, he realises that he has been deceived: his prestigious career is nothing more than running a seedy barber shop frequented by his new abolitionist masters, and is paid meagre wages for his work. However, Frank is soon discovered by members of the American Colonization Society, who rescue Frank from his predicament and pay for his passage back to Liberia, his homeland, where he can finally live in peace.

In other works

Related Research Articles

<i>Uncle Toms Cabin</i> 1852 anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War".

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1852.

Anti-Tom literature

Anti-Tom literature consists of the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also called plantation literature, these writings were generally written by authors from the Southern United States. Books in the genre attempted to show either that slavery was beneficial to African Americans or that the evils of slavery as depicted in Stowe's book were overblown and incorrect.

<i>Aunt Philliss Cabin</i> 1852 anti-Tom novel by Mary Henderson Eastman

Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or, Southern Life as It Is by Mary Henderson Eastman is a plantation fiction novel, and is perhaps the most read anti-Tom novel in American literature. It was published by Lippincott, Grambo & Co. of Philadelphia in 1852 as a response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, published earlier that year. The novel sold 20,000–30,000 copies, far less than Stowe's novel, but still a strong commercial success and bestseller. Based on her growing up in Warrenton, Virginia, of an elite planter family, Eastman portrays plantation owners and slaves as mutually respectful, kind, and happy beings.

<i>The Planters Northern Bride</i>

The Planter's Northern Bride is an 1854 novel written by Caroline Lee Hentz, in response to the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.

Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston is an 1853 novel written by J.W. Page and released by J. W. Randolph Publishers of Richmond, Virginia.

<i>Antifanaticism</i>

Antifanaticism: A Tale of the South is an 1853 plantation fiction novel by Martha Haines Butt.

<i>Little Eva: The Flower of the South</i> 19th century childrens novel by Philip J. Cozans

Little Eva: The Flower of the South is an Anti-Tom children's book by American writer Philip J. Cozans. Although its publication date is unknown, scholars estimated the release was either in the 1850s or early 1860s. The book follows Little Eva, the daughter of a wealthy Alabama planter. She is characterized through her kindness toward slaves as she reads the Bible to them and teaches the alphabet to slave children. On her ninth birthday, Little Eva nearly drowns, but is rescued by a slave named Sam. Her parents free Sam who decides to remain with the family because he loves them.

White Acre vs. Black Acre is an 1856 plantation fiction novel written by William M. Burwell.

<i>The Black Gauntlet</i>

The Black Gauntlet: A Tale of Plantation Life in South Carolina is an anti-Tom novel written in 1860 by Mary Howard Schoolcraft, published under her married name of Mrs. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.

Life at the South; or, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" As It Is is an 1852 plantation fiction novel written by William L.G. Smith.

The North and the South; or, Slavery and Its Contrasts is an 1852 plantation fiction novel by Caroline Rush, and among the first examples of the genre, alongside others such as Aunt Phillis's Cabin by Mary Henderson Eastman and Life at the South; or, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" As It Is by W.L.G. Smith, both of which were also released in 1852.

<i>The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters</i>

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The Lofty and the Lowly, or Good in All and None All Good is a novel by Maria Jane McIntosh published by D. Appleton & Company in 1853. It was one of many anti-Tom novels published in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The story is set is Georgia and tells of a plantation owner's efforts to avoid bankruptcy with the help of his loyal slave Daddy Cato. Their efforts are challenged by a northern usurer and devious northern capitalists. The book sold well across the United States upon release, making it one of the most successful anti-Tom novels in the middle 19th century.

<i>Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent</i>

Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent is an 1853 parody novel written by an unknown author credited as "Vidi".

Liberia; or, Mr. Peyton's Experiments is an 1853 novel by Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", who wrote the novel under the name of Sara J. Hale.

<i>Ellen; or, The Fanatics Daughter</i>

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The Ebony Idol is a plantation literature novel first published in 1860 and written by G.M. Flanders.

Mary Henderson Eastman 19th-century American writer and historian

Mary Henderson Eastman was an American historian and novelist who is noted for her works about Native American life. She was also an advocate of slavery in the United States. In response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery Uncle Tom's Cabin, Eastman defended Southern slaveholding society by writing Aunt Phillis's Cabin: or, Southern Life As It Is (1852), which earned her considerable fame. She was the wife of the American illustrator and army officer Seth Eastman.

References

  1. "Uncle Tom's Cabin Summary - eNotes.com". eNotes.
  2. "Hentz Homepage". utc.iath.virginia.edu.
  3. "Hall's Frank Freeman". utc.iath.virginia.edu.
  4. Chapter 26 of Aunt Phillis's Cabin – M.H. Eastman (1852)
  5. "Hale's Liberia". utc.iath.virginia.edu.