Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave

William Wells Brown's autobiography provides a clear-eyed and unvarnished account of his experiences as a slave up to his eventual escape to freedom. Narrator Peter Jay Fernandez matches the calm, steady tone Brown uses even as he suffers indignities and physical torment. This intelligent and effective approach serves to highlight Brown's courage and thoughtfulness even in the face of cruelty. Fernandez also infuses warmth and humor in Brown's tongue-in-cheek observations of the hypocrisies of Christian masters and expresses a brooding sincerity when Brown contemplates the terrible effects of slavery on its victims.