Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West

"Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman" by Austin Steward is a historical account written in the mid-19th century. The book recounts the author's experiences as a slave on a Virginia plantation and his subsequent life as a free man. Steward's narrative provides a poignant insight into the brutal realities of slavery, the cruelty inflicted on enslaved people, and his journey toward freedom and activism against the institution of slavery. At the start of the book, Steward introduces himself as a slave born in Virginia, sharing vivid and harrowing details of slave life on the plantation owned by Captain William Helm. He describes the harsh living conditions, insufficient provisions, and the brutal punishments meted out by the overseer. As a child slave, he endures extreme cruelty but also longs for knowledge and freedom. He is later moved to the "great house" to serve his master's family, where he witnesses both the lifestyles of his masters and the contrasting misery of his fellow slaves. This opening portion sets the stage for Steward's compelling narrative that melds personal struggle with a broader commentary on the evils of slavery. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Austin Steward was an African-American abolitionist and author. He was born a slave in Virginia then moved at age 7 with the Helm household to New York State in 1800. The household settled in the town of Bath, New York, in 1803. He escaped slavery at about age 21, settling in Rochester, New York, and then British North America. His autobiography, Twenty-Two Years a Slave, was published in 1857.