The Heroic Slave

The Heroic Slave (1852) is a novella by Frederick Douglass. Although he is more frequently recognized as prominent orator and autobiographer who spearheaded the American abolitionist movement, Douglass published one work of fiction in his lifetime. Inspired by the 1841 Creole case, in which an enslaved cook and a crew of nineteen fellow-slaves led a rebellion onboard a ship bound from Virginia to New Orleans, The Heroic Slave seeks to highlight the bravery and autonomy of fugitives and revo...