Mary Prince - The Book and Its Aftermath

The Book and Its Aftermath

Although when Prince's book was published slavery was no longer recognized as legal in Britain itself, it had not been ended in the colonies. There was still considerable uncertainty about the political and economic repercussions that might arise if Britain imposed an end to slavery throughout the empire. As a personal account the book contributed to the debate in a manner different from reasoned analysis or statistical arguments. Its tone was direct and authentic and its simple but vivid prose contrasted with the more laboured literary style of the day. An example is Prince's description of first being sold away from her mother at a young age:

"It was night when I reached my new home. The house was large, and built at the bottom of a very high hill; but I could not see much of it that night. I saw too much of it afterwards. The stones and the timber were the best things in it; they were not so hard as the hearts of the owners."

Prince moreover spoke of slavery with the authority of personal experience, something her political opponents could never match.

As her book had an immediate effect on public opinion it soon became the subject of controversy, and its accuracy was strongly challenged in Blackwood's Magazine by James MacQueen, a defender of white West Indian interests and vigorous critic of the anti-slavery movement. He depicted Prince as a woman of low morals who had been merely the "despicable tool" of the anti-slavery clique, who had incited her to malign her generous and indulgent owners. He also insinuated there must be something wrong with the Pringle family if it could accept such a morally-degraded person into its household. Pringle thereupon sued and received damages of £5. In return John Wood also sued Pringle for libel, claiming the book generally misrepresented his character, and after winning his case was awarded £25 in damages.