The Top 10 Books Published Before 1860

Share your ideas for additional “Top 10” categories or suggest titles for existing categories in the comments below. You may also participate in a more in-depth conversation. The books are listed alphabetically.

#1
America’s First Negro Poet: Jupiter Hammon of Long Island
America’s First Negro Poet: Jupiter Hammon of Long Island
by Jupiter Hammon
#2
Clotel: Or, The President’s Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States
Clotel: Or, The President’s Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States
by William Wells Brown
#3
Freedom’s Journal: The First African-American Newspaper
Freedom’s Journal: The First African-American Newspaper
by Jacqueline Bacon
#4
Iola Leroy: or, Shadows Uplifted
Iola Leroy: or, Shadows Uplifted
by Frances E. W. Harper
#5
Our Nig: Or, Sketches From the Life of a Free Black
Our Nig: Or, Sketches From the Life of a Free Black
by Harriet E. Wilson
#6
Phillis Wheatley, Complete Writings
Phillis Wheatley, Complete Writings
by Phillis Wheatley
#7
The Bondwoman’s Narrative
The Bondwoman’s Narrative
by Hannah Crafts
#8
The Fortune Teller (Louisiana Heritage)
The Fortune Teller (Louisiana Heritage)
by Victor Séjour
#9
The Garies and their Friends (Race in the Americas)
The Garies and their Friends (Race in the Americas)
by Frank J. Webb
#10
The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano: Written By Himself
The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano: Written By Himself
by Olaudah Equiano
#11
Twelve Years a Slave
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup