First published in 1845, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass remains one of the most powerful autobiographies ever written—an unflinching, eloquent account of slavery from the man who escaped it and went on to become America's foremost abolitionist orator. This edition presents the complete, unabridged original text exactly as Douglass wrote it, from his earliest memories of the plantation to his daring escape north, accompanied by a new introduction that places the work in its historical context and reader's notes illuminating the people, places, and events behind the story. Whether you are encountering this landmark of American literature for the first time or returning to it with fresh eyes, Douglass's testimony of courage, literacy, and the unbreakable demand for freedom speaks as urgently today as it did nearly two centuries ago. Part of The Founding Texts Library.