Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or Life Among the Lowly (Splendid)

When Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852 it caused a sensation. Its antislavery position proved to be one the most powerful cultural influences behind the Civil War. By emphasizing the moral failure inherent in slavery, it helped intensify the conflict between north and south. By the end of the year it had sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. and more than a million abroad. It went on to be the nineteenth century's worldwide bestseller.

To capitalize on the book's success the publisher released a lavishly illustrated gift version for the Christmas season. Widely known as the "Splendid Edition," the deluxe offering included over one hundred detailed engravings by Hammatt Billings, who had done six pictures for the original printing. The artfully integrated illustrations amplify the book's abolitionist ideas and capture its historical moment, lending the narrative a moving immediacy.

Reissued for the first time, this facsimile edition gives general readers the chance to experience Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic in this most revealing form. It includes a substantial introduction by Bancroft-winning historian David S. Reynolds that situates the novel within the world of ideas and images operative at the time.


Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 07/21/2011
Pages: 608
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.48lbs
Size: 9.54h x 6.39w x 2.04d
ISBN: 9780199841431

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.3
Point Value: 32
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 16725 / Uncle Tom's Cabin


Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2012

About the Author

David S. Reynolds is Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His newest book is Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Battle for America.