{"product_id":"the-curse-of-caste-or-the-slave-bride-a-rediscovered-african-american-novel-by-julia-c-collins","title":"The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride: A Rediscovered African American Novel by Julia C. Collins","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1865  The Christian Recorder  the national newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church  serialized The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride  a novel written by Mrs. Julia C. Collins  an African American woman living in the small town of Williamsport  Pennsylvania. The first novel ever published by a black American woman  it is set in antebellum Louisiana and Connecticut  and focuses on the lives of a beautiful mixed-race mother and daughter whose opportunities for fulfillment through love and marriage are threatened by slavery and caste prejudice. The text shares much with popular nineteenth-century womens fiction  while its dominant themes of interracial romance  hidden African ancestry  and ambiguous racial identity have parallels in the writings of both black and white authors from the period. Begun in the waning months of the Civil War  the novel was near its conclusion when Julia Collins died of tuberculosis in November of 1865. In this first-ever book publication of The Curse of Caste; or The Slave Bride  the editors have composed a hopeful and a tragic ending  reflecting two alternatives Collins almost certainly would have considered for the closing of her unprecedented novel. In their introduction  the editors offer the most complete and current research on the life and community of an author who left few traces in the historical record  and provide extensive discussion of her novels literary and historical significance. Collinss published essays  which provide intriguing glimpses into the mind of this gifted but overlooked writer  are included in what will prove to be the definitive edition of a major new discovery in African American literature. Its publication contributes immensely to our understanding of black American literature  religion  womens history  community life  and race relations during the era of United States emancipation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44983561748533,"sku":"ByrdShop_0195301595","price":225.83,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780195301595_af48c228-5915-404d-8cd8-eed3665caf92.jpg?v=1772669258","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-curse-of-caste-or-the-slave-bride-a-rediscovered-african-american-novel-by-julia-c-collins","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}