Results by "Frances Anne Kemble" in All categories

Fanny Kemble, a British actress, found herself entwined in the lavish yet troubling world of the American South when she married the prominent plantation owner Pierce Butler. Throughout her marriage, she meticulously documented her daily life in journals, capturing not only the beauty of the landscape but also the haunting realities of slavery. As time passed, Kembles admiration for her husband’s lifestyle waned, and her growing abhorrence for the institution of slavery became undeniable. Following their divorce, she published her poignant observations, shedding light on the lives of the ...

A personal indictment of the institute of slavery in the Southern United States, as witnessed directly by Fanny Kemble, a British actress in 1838 and 1839. In a very personal way, she relates her many varied experiences, efforts to make life easier for the slaves despite her husband's stubborn resistance. As an English citizen, she had seen the total end of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833, just a few years before her journey to Georgia. She ends her account with a stirring defense of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.