A collection of historic writings from the slave-owner-turned-abolitionist sisters portrayed in Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Invention of Wings. The first female agents for the American Anti-Slavery Society, the Grimkae sisters originally rose to prominence after Angelina wrote a rousing letter of support to renowned abolitionist William Garrison in the wake of Philadelphia's pro-slavery riots in 1935. Born into Southern aristocracy, the Grimke's grew up in a slave-holding family. Hetty, a young house servant, whom Sarah secretly taught to read, deeply influenced Sarah Grimke's life, sparking her commitment to anti-slavery activism. As adults, the sisters embraced Quakerism and dedicated their lives to the abolitionist and women's rights movements. Their words, greeted with trepidation and threats in their own time, speak to us now as enduring examples of triumph and hope"--
An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South (1836) was a unique piece written in the hopes that Southern women would not be able to resist an appeal made by one of their own. The style of the essay is very personal in nature, and uses simple language and firm assertions to convey her ideas. The essay is extraordinarily unique because it is the only written appeal made by a Southern woman to other Southern women regarding the abolition of slavery. Grimke's Appeal was widely distributed by the American Anti-Slavery Society, and was received with great acclaim by radical abolitionists. However, it was also received with great criticism by her former Quaker community, and was publicly burned in South Carolina. Angelina Emily Grimke Weld (1805-1879) was an American politician, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist. Grimke was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to John Faucheraud Grimke, an aristocratic Episcopalian judge who owned slaves. She was very close to her sister Sarah Moore Grimke. In 1835, Angelina wrote an antislavery letter to Abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison, who published it in The Liberator. When her anti-slavery An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South was published in 1836, it was publicly burned in South Carolina, and she and her sister were threatened with arrest if they ever returned to their native state. At this point, Grimke and Sarah began to speak out against slavery in public. They were among the first women in the United States to break out of their designated private spheres; this made them somewhat of a curiosity. Grimke was invited to speak at the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1837, and testified February 1838, becoming the first woman in the United States to address a legislative body. In 1838, the Grimke sisters gave a series of well-attended lectures in Boston.
The diary that Angelina Grimke (1805-1879) kept from 1828 through 1835 offers a window into the spiritual struggles and personal evolution of a woman who would become one of the nation's most fervent abolitionists. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, and an heir to a family enterprise dependent on slave labor, Grimke was an unlikely supporter of emancipation. Only after years of inner turmoil did she leave the South to join her sister Sarah in the crusade against slavery. While Grimke's public persona has been widely studied, the private spiritual and intellectual journey that preceded her public career and pushed her to the forefront of the abolitionist movement is chronicled for the first time in Walking by Faith. When Grimke began this diary in January 1828, uncertainty about her place in the world and her life's work occupied her thoughts. For the next seven years she recorded her most intimate concerns. Her diary entries follow her shift in religious affiliation from Episcopolian to Presbyterian to Quaker; her changing views on abolition; her conclusion that living as a Quaker in Charleston would be impossible; and her decision to establish an existence independent of her
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The diary that Angelina Grimke (1805-1879) kept from 1828 through 1835 offers a window into the spiritual struggles and personal evolution of a woman who would become one of the nation's most fervent abolitionists. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, and an heir to a family enterprise dependent on slave labor, Grimke was an unlikely supporter of emancipation. Only after years of inner turmoil did she leave the South to join her sister Sarah in the crusade against slavery. While Grimke's public persona has been widely studied, the private spiritual and intellectual journey that preceded her public career and pushed her to the forefront of the abolitionist movement is chronicled for the first time in Walking by Faith. When Grimke began this diary in January 1828, uncertainty about her place in the world and her life's work occupied her thoughts. For the next seven years she recorded her most intimate concerns. Her diary entries follow her shift in religious affiliation from Episcopolian to Presbyterian to Quaker; her changing views on abolition; her conclusion that living as a Quaker in Charleston would be impossible; and her decision to establish an existence independent of her
A collection of historic writings from the slave-owner-turned-abolitionist sisters portrayed in Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Invention of Wings Sarah and Angelina Grimké’s portrayal in Sue Monk Kidd’s latest novel, The Invention of Wings, has brought much-deserved new attention to these inspiring Americans. The first female agents for the American Anti-Slavery Society, the sisters originally rose to prominence after Angelina wrote a rousing letter of support to renowned abolitionist William Garrison in the wake of Philadelphia’s pro-slavery riots in 1935. Born into Southern aristocracy, the Grimkés grew up in a slave-holding family. Hetty, a young house servant, whom Sarah secretly taught to read, deeply influenced Sarah Grimké’s life, sparking her commitment to anti-slavery activism. As adults, the sisters embraced Quakerism and dedicated their lives to the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. Their appeals and epistles were some of the most eloquent and emotional arguments against slavery made by any abolitionists. Their words, greeted with trepidation and threats in their own time, speak to us now as enduring examples of triumph and hope. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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