Harriet Beecher Stowe
By Illa Vij

THE author of the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which took the whole world by storm, was Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book was an influential contribution of American literature to the emancipation movement—the movement against slavery. Harriet had gone to visit her brother Henry Ward Beecher. During the visit, the topic of slavery frequently featured in their conversations. After she returned to her own house, her sister-in law knowing her skills in writing, wrote to her "Now Hattie, if I could use a pen the way you can, I would write something that would make the whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." It was the letter that strengthened Harriet’s determination to write against slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on June 14,1811. Her father was Reverend Lyman Stowe. She learned to sew, knit and was permitted to read prayer books, hymns, poems and sermons. She enjoyed Arabian Nights, which she read secretly. She was educated at Hartford and when she grew up, she taught at her sister’s school there. In 1832, Harriet and her father moved to Cincinnati, where again she took up teaching. In 1836, Harriet married Professor C.E. Stowe, a professor of theology at Bowdoin College, Brunswick. There Harriet wrote her famous book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom was modelled after the Reverend Josiah Henson, a Negro preacher and social worker who had bought his freedom and whom Harriet met in Boston. In his youth, Father Henson had been cruelly and permanently crippled by a flogging given by a brutal master. The book was first published in a series. On June 5, 1851, the first instalment of the novel appeared in the National Era. The book focused attention on the inhumanity of slavery which was fast becoming a political issue. The book further intensified the feelings of the people and the timely publication helped in changing the world for the better.

The complete book was published on March 20,1852. The first edition of 6,000 copies was immediately lifted from the stands. Within a week the publisher had three power presses running 24 hours a day. A hundred book-binders were put to work and three paper mills were run to supply the paper. On the first anniversary, 305,000 copies had been sold. The book was soon pirated by publishers in numerous countries and translated into many languages. The under-privileged classes of Europe treasured this book as they could understand the misery and share the sorrows of Uncle Tom. Americans sang Uncle Tom and little Eva songs. Even a card game called "Uncle Tom and Little Eva" was manufactured. Uncle Tom’s Cabin became a pillar to support the downtrodden. A noted critic, Kirk Manroe, said: "The abolition of slavery was not, and could not be accomplished by any one person. It was the result of united efforts.....But the greatest and the most far- reaching influence was Uncle Tom’s Cabin."

Harriet spent the later years of her life in Andover, Massachusetts. She died on July 1, 1896.