Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom Topsy Sambo Simon Legree little Eva: their names are American bywords and all of them are characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's remarkable novel of the pre-Civil War South. <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> was revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its presentation of Tom a man of humanity as the first black hero in American fiction. Labeled racist and condescending by some contemporary critics it remains a shocking controversial and powerful work -- exposing the attitudes of white nineteenth-century society toward the peculiar institution and documenting in heartrending detail the tragic breakup of black Kentucky families sold down the river. An immediate international sensation <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i> sold 300000 copies in the first year was translated into thirty-seven languages and has never gone out of print: its political impact was immense its emotional influence immeasurable.