The Bondwoman's Narrative -- Annotated Web Links -- Blog Post Four

Bloom, John. “Assignment America: Literary blackface?” United Press International, Inc.

          Online. 24 June 2002. Web. 18 November 2009. Click here to go to the Web Page.

In his review of The Bondwoman’s Narrative, Bloom refutes the editor’s (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.) assertion that the novel was written by an escaped slave woman. Bloom argues that Gates provides no conclusive proof of Hannah Crafts existence, much less her racial identity. Bloom’s purpose in writing this article is to respond to the hype generated by the release of the narrative as “the first novel written by an ex-slave woman.” He does this by refuting the evidence provided by Gates in the introduction to the narrative.


Haynes, Monica L. “Researcher tries to unlock the identity of a slave-era author.” Pittsburg

           Post- Gazette Online. 22 April 2003. Web. 18 November 2009. Click here to go to the

           Web Page.

This article details a researcher’s attempts to discover a record of Hannah Crafts in census documents from the 1850s. Haynes interviewed Stephanie English, a researcher hired by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to find information about the narrative and its author. This article is of particular importance because it provides insight into the methods used to undertake historical research. Furthermore, it provides a glimpse of the depth of research needed to investigate historical figures.


Ifill, Gwen. “The Bondwoman's Narrative: Interview with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” (A “News

            Hour  with Jim Lehrer Transcript”) PBS Online. 23 July 2002. Web. 18 November

            2009. Click here to go to the Web Page.

This webpage contains a transcript of an interview of the editor; Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Gates discusses his introduction to the narrative and the means in which he acquired the story. Additionally, Gates describes his research attempts to find a record of Hannah Crafts. He also discusses Crafts’ literary influences and the literary tropes that she used when writing her narrative.


Mantel, Hillary. “The Shape of Absence.” London Review of Books. 8 August 2002. Web. 18

            November 2009. Click here to go to the Web Page.

In her review of The Bondwoman’s Narrative, Mantel traces the lineage of the novel and follows the manuscript as it changes hands over the course of 150 years. Furthermore, she discusses Crafts’ contemporaries and the texts that influenced and informed the narrative, such as Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Additionally, Mantel backs-up Gates’ assertion that the novel was written by a fugitive slave woman.


Young, Elizabeth. “Two narratives add a literary aspect to the literal horrors of slavery.”

            Mount Holyoke College Office of Communications. (First Published in the Chicago

            Tribune). 11 August 2002. Web. 18 November 2009. Click here to go to the Web Page.

In her review of The Bondwoman’s Narrative, Young details Crafts’ use of “gothic imagery” and “gothic horror.” Young points to several instances of traditional gothic conventions in the narrative: “cadaverous apparitions, claustrophobic houses and frightening landscapes,” to name a few. Young argues that Crafts’ use of gothic convention adds “a literary aspect” to an otherwise traditional slave narrative.