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Abigail Field Mott’s The Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano
A Scholarly Edition
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Edited by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2026
About this book
In 1829, Samuel Wood and Sons, a New York publisher of children’s literature, printed and sold the Quaker Abigail Field Mott’s Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano. Mott adapted Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, a bestselling autobiography first published in London in 1789, for Black children studying at New York African Free Schools, one of the first educational systems to teach individuals of African descent in the United States.
By reissuing Mott’s neglected adaptation with contextualizing scholarly apparatus, Eric D. Lamore disrupts the editorial tradition of selecting a London edition of Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, and positions Equiano in the United States instead of Great Britain. Lamore’s volume contains Mott’s children’s book, which includes a series of illustrations, in a facsimile edition; instructive notes on Life and Adventures; a provocative essay on the adaptation; and selections from relevant texts on the New York African Free Schools and other related topics. With its focus on the intersections of early Black Atlantic and American studies, children’s literature, history of education, life writing, and book history, this edition offers a fresh take on Equiano and his autobiography for a variety of twenty-first-century audiences.
By reissuing Mott’s neglected adaptation with contextualizing scholarly apparatus, Eric D. Lamore disrupts the editorial tradition of selecting a London edition of Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, and positions Equiano in the United States instead of Great Britain. Lamore’s volume contains Mott’s children’s book, which includes a series of illustrations, in a facsimile edition; instructive notes on Life and Adventures; a provocative essay on the adaptation; and selections from relevant texts on the New York African Free Schools and other related topics. With its focus on the intersections of early Black Atlantic and American studies, children’s literature, history of education, life writing, and book history, this edition offers a fresh take on Equiano and his autobiography for a variety of twenty-first-century audiences.
Reviews
“Eric D. Lamore’s multifaceted edition of Abigail Field Mott’s Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano challenges textual paradigms in early Black Atlantic studies by bridging divisions between literary history and book history. This much-needed volume documents an important chapter in the evolution of Equiano’s trans atlantic posthumous reputation while introducing readers to a signal contribution to early African American children’s literature.”
— William L. Andrews, author of Slavery and Class in the American South: A Generation of Slave Narrative Testimony, 1840-1“Think you’ve read the ‘authorized’ edition of Olaudah Equiano’s narrative? Eric D. Lamore’s edition of Abigail Field Mott’s Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano might have you question your choice. It is an incisive, must-read primer for anyone considering Equiano or early American book history, Black subjectivity, and authorship. Read this book—and learn to think in new ways about what it means to tell a Black person’s story.”— Tara Bynum, author of Reading Pleasures Everyday Black Living in Early America (2023)
Topics
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Frontmatter
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Contents
vii -
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Acknowledgments
ix -
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Introduction
xi -
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A Note on the Text
xxiii -
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The Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa, the African
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Explanatory Notes
39 -
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Appendix A: Rethinking Textual Paradigms in Early Black Atlantic Studies
59 -
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Appendix B: Pedagogy, Politics, and Regulations at the New York African Free Schools
103 -
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Appendix C: Additional Works by and about Abigail Field Mott
129 -
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Appendix D: Selected Commentary on the Institution of Slavery in Books Published by Samuel Wood and Sons
191
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 17, 2026
eBook ISBN:
9781644533727
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781644533727
Keywords for this book
Abigail Field Mott; Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano; Olaudah Equiano; Interesting Narrative; New York African Free Schools; children’s literature; educational systems; Black Atlantic; Black Atlantic studies; African American studies; American studies; history of education; life writing; book history; African American print culture; adaptation studies
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
