The complete online text of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African by Olaudah Equiano.

c. 1745 Nigeria, Africa 1797 England Freedman, sailor, author, and abolitionist Portrait: Olaudah Equiano. "The...

Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), also known as Gustavus Vassa, was one of the most prominent people of African heritage involved in the British debate for the abolition of the slave trade. He wrote an autobiography that depicted the...

The Interesting Narrative There is no more trenchant eyewitness account of late eighteenth-century slavery than The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written by Himself.1 Self-published by Equiano in London in 1789, The Interesting Narrative was...

In March 2003, Michael D. Benjamin, a scholar-collector of early writings by people of African descent, brought to my attention a very intriguing piece of Equiana. Mr. Benjamin had found a letter signed Gustavus Vassa (Olaudah Equiano, 1745?-1797) addressed to Thomas Digges written...

In the following essay, Samuels contends that Olaudah Equiano's intention in his Narrative, which is to point out the miseries of the slave trade, is enhanced by the use of a disguised voice, through which the author takes control of his audience and holds their attention, outwitting and flattering his white readers while simultaneously revealing that they are unscrupulous and uncaring.

Examines Olaudah Equiano's "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano." Describes it as one of the most influential slave narratives to present day society. Details how through his use of diction, verb tense, and the consciousness of his target audience, Equiano creates a realistic description of slave life that is both powerful and informative.