Posted 14 November 2005

This Routledge Literary Sourcebook on Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) follows the usual format – three sections, respectively entitled ‘Contexts’, ‘Interpretations’ and ‘Key Passages’. There is also a useful although short selection of further reading at the back, both textual and web-based.

A brief contextual overview highlights the autobiographical impulses that led Stowe to write her most famous novel, followed by a factual chronology. The most interesting section of the ‘Contexts’ is a series of ‘Contemporary Documents’, which includes such gems as an extract from Catherine (sister of Harriet) Beecher’s A Treatise in Domestic Economy (1841). For more able students, these documents will provide key insights into Stowe’s life and motivations. The subsequent ‘Critical Reception’ section is also very strong, moving chronologically from the first reviews of the novel to recent theoretical journal articles. In this way, the student can trace the development of the novel’s reception, both here and in the United States. Short highlighted passages at the top of each review helpfully summarise its contents – for higher-ability students, the teacher may wish to omit these.

The only slight issue with this sourcebook is the number of pages dedicated to ‘Key Passages’, extracts from Uncle Tom’s Cabin with highlighted summaries above them. Nearly half the book, almost seventy pages, is given over to reproducing the text of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and this does detract from what is otherwise a comprehensive and accessible text. Cheap editions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin are now available for as little as £1, and the entire text is also available free of charge on the internet. More contextual information and less primary text would make this sourcebook invaluable to both the teacher and student of American Studies at Access and A-Level.

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