WEBB | The Garies and their Friends, 1857, the second recorded novel by an African-American author

WEBB, FRANK J.

The Garies and their Friends... with an Introductory Preface by Mrs. Harriet B. Stowe. G. Routledge & Co., 1857

8vo, FIRST EDITION, original boards with coloured illustration on upper cover, 3pp. publisher's advertisements at front, 3pp. publisher's advertisements at end

THE FIRST NOVEL BY AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AUTHOR TO PORTRAY THE DAILY LIVES OF FREE BLACKS IN NORTH AMERICA, RATHER THAN SLAVES.

Webb's novel - his only book - addresses issues of race relations and is recorded as only the second novel by an African-American author (after William Wells Brown's Clotel published in 1853).

The novel is introduced by Harriet B. Stowe who describes the author as "a coloured young man, born and reared in the city of Philadelphia". She also states "the author takes pleasure in recommending this simple and truthfully-told story to the attention and interest of the friends of progress and humanity in England."