THE STORY OF A SLAVE: A Realistic Revelation of a Social Relation of Slave Times, Hitherto Unwritten, from the Pen of One Who Has Felt the Lash and the Caress of a Mistress

Chicago: Wesley, Elmore & Benson, 1894. Second Edition. Hardcover. Good. Octavo; vi, 214 pages, contemporary half morocco, (stab holes in the gutters suggest that this was originally a paperback), printed on acidic paper - with some consequent minor faults; joints cracking. Ex libris a previous owner at Dixon, Illinois. .

A fictionalized slave narrative detailing the life of a slave named Paul, centering around his love affair with his young, white mistress. The narrative is written in the first-person and is introduced by a brief preface by the publisher condemning slavery. The story begins with a short overview of Paul's lineage and childhood, and ends with the death of his mistress. Illustrated with 15 block prints ( lacking the 15th which may have been lost in the re-binding). Preceded by an 1890 edition with 192 pages - apparently without illustrations. The publisher's preface strongly argues that this story is not a fiction. "The eminence which [the author] has since attained, the well-earned successes which have come to him in his life as a freedman ... would possibly be the strongest proofs which could be advanced to convince the most skeptical as to the truthfulness of the story, disclosing ... a character and personality which would reconcile even the most intolerant 'nigger-hater' to the startling, yet no unnatural denouement of the story." - p. v. Note: this anonymous publication has been attributed to Charles Chandler. But who was he? Note: not in AMERICAN FICTION.