The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings

Completely revised and edited with an introduction and notes by Vincent Carretta

An exciting and often terrifying adventure story, as well as an important precursor to such famous nineteenth-century slave narratives as Frederick Douglass's autobiographies, Olaudah Equiano's The Interesting Narrative recounts his kidnapping in Africa at the age of ten, his service as the slave of an officer in the British Navy, his ten years of labor on slave ships until he was able to purchase his freedom in 1766, and his life afterward as a leading and respected figure in the antislavery movement in England. A spirited autobiography, a tale of spiritual quest and fulfillment, and a sophisticated treatise on religion, politics, and economics, The Interesting Narrative is a work of enduring literary and historical value.

Introduction

Vincent Carretta

A Note on the Text

Acknowledgments

A Note on Money

Suggestions for Further Reading

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of  Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself

Explanatory and Textual Notes

Appendix A: The Frontispieces and Title Pages of the First London (1789) and New York (1791) Editions

Appendix B: A Note on the Illustrations

Appendix C: List of Subscribers to the First Edition

Appendix D: List of Subscribers to the New York Edition

Appendix E: Correspondence of Gustavus Vassa, or Olaudah Equiano, Not Published in The Interesting Narrative

Appendix F: The Will and Codicil of Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano)