Late in the afternoon of a chilly day in February,two gentlemen were sitting alone over their wine,in a well-furnished dining parlor,in the town of P-in Kentucky.There were no servants present,and the gentlemen,with chairs closely approaching,seemed to be discussing some subject with great earnestness.
For convenience sake,we have said,hitherto,two gentlemen.One of the parties,however,when critically examined,did not seem,strictly speaking,to come under the species.He was a short,thickset man,with coarse,commonplace features,and that swaggering air of pretension,which marks a low man who is trying to elbow his way upward in the world
作者簡介：Harriet Beecher Stowe(1811-1896)was an American author and abolitionist,whose novel Uncle Tom's Cabin(1852)attacked the cruelty of slavery;it reached millions as a novel and play,and became influential in the U.S.and Britain.It made the political issues of the 1850s regarding slavery tangible to millions,energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North.It angered and embittered the South.The impact is summed up in a commonly quoted statement apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln.When he met Stowe,it is claimed that he said,"So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"
《湯姆叔叔的小屋（英文版）》運用穿插敘述的手段，通過逆來順受的湯姆和勇于反抗的伊莉莎兩條平行線索，生動再現(xiàn)了美國黑人在南方種植園主的盤剝下的悲慘遭遇。湯姆和伊利莎都是好心的謝比爾家的奴隸，謝比爾的兒子喬治尤其喜愛這位湯姆叔叔，常常到小木屋中寫字畫畫。但謝比爾經(jīng)營失敗，不得不將湯姆和伊莉莎五歲的兒子哈利賣給奴隸販子黑利。伊莉莎為女主人的貼身女仆，聽到噩耗連夜帶著兒子渡過剛剛解凍的河水，逃到北方。后來丈夫也化裝成貴族，逃出魔掌。
湯姆的新主人也是個好心人，然而不久主人去世，他落在紅河岸邊一個粗暴、殘忍的家伙路格里手中，莊園上的黑人每天在皮鞭下拼命苦干，過著非人的生活。處于正義，湯姆協(xié)助兩名女奴逃走，而他自己卻留下來，一次次遭受毒打。就在小喬治趕來看望這位善良的湯姆叔叔時，湯姆已奄奄一息。
小喬治長大后去法國留學(xué)，畢業(yè)后去了非洲，立志建立一個非洲人自己的國家。
此書對19世紀中期的廢奴運動產(chǎn)生巨大的推動作用。據(jù)說，林肯總統(tǒng)曾稱斯托夫人為“寫了一本書，卻釀成了一場大戰(zhàn)的女人�！�
1.作者以細膩、樸實的文風(fēng)寫出了黑人奴隸在美國南方舊莊園經(jīng)濟體制下悲慘的生活境遇，更表達了人權(quán)思想以及深厚的人道主義精神，從而在美國社會中引起一場深刻的變革，被林肯總統(tǒng)稱為“引起一場戰(zhàn)爭的女人”。
2.《湯姆叔叔的小屋》語言生動、簡潔，一直被奉為美國文學(xué)中的典范之作，經(jīng)常被其他族裔的人當(dāng)做學(xué)習(xí)英語的入門書。
3.《湯姆叔叔的小屋》在文學(xué)上獲得較高的成就�！稖肥迨宓男∥荨吩诿绹约捌渌鲊N售量一直很高，也是被改編為兒童故事、戲劇、電影等文藝形式最多的作品之一。
斯托夫人（1811－1896），美國作家，生于康涅狄格州的牧師家庭，后遷至與南方蓄奴州只有一河之隔的辛辛那提，耳聞目睹了許多黑人遭難種植園主殘酷剝削的故事，并全家參與到協(xié)助黑人逃亡的工作中。后在姐夫的鼓勵下，寫出一部控訴黑人血淚的小說，這就是《湯姆叔叔的小屋》。此書對當(dāng)時的廢奴運動產(chǎn)生巨大的推動作用，并直接導(dǎo)致南北戰(zhàn)爭的爆發(fā)。據(jù)說，林肯總統(tǒng)曾稱斯托夫人為“寫了一本小書，卻釀成了一場大戰(zhàn)的女人”。
斯托夫人的另一個成就是描寫新英格蘭風(fēng)情的小說，如《奧爾島上的明珠》、《老鎮(zhèn)上的人們》等。
《湯姆叔叔的小屋》在1901年即由林紓譯成漢語，書名為《黑奴吁天錄》，在現(xiàn)代文學(xué)史上產(chǎn)生重要影響，至今仍是廣大青少年讀者最喜愛的外國小說之一。
CHAPTER 1 IN WHICH THE READER IS INTRODUCED TO A MAN OF HUMANITY
CHAPTER 2 THE MOTHER
CHAPTER 3 THE HUSBAND AND FATHER
CHAPTER 4 AN EVENING IN UNCLE TOM'S CABIN
CHAPTER 5 SHOWING THE FEELINGS OF LWING PROPERTY ON CHANGING OWNERS
CHAPTER 6 DISCOVERY
CHAPTER 7 THE MOTHER'S STRUGGLE
CHAPTER 8 ELIZA'S ESCAPE
CHAPTER 9 IN WHICH IT APPEARS THAT A SENATOR IS BUT A MAN
CHAPTER 10 THE PROPERTY IS CARRIED OFF
CHAPTER 11 IN WHICH PROPERTY GETS INTO AN IMPROPER STATE OF MIND
CHAPTER 12 SELECT INCIDENT OF LAWFUL TRADE
CHAPTER 13 THE QUAKER SETTLEMENT
CHAPTER 14 EVANGELINE
CHAPTER 15 OF TOM'S NEW MASTER, AND VARIOUS OTHER MATTERS
CHAPTER 16 TOM'S MISTRESS AND HER OPINIONS
CHAPTER 17 THE FREEMAN'S DEFENCE
CHAPTER 18 MISS OPHELIA'S EXPERIENCES AND OPINIONS
CHAPTER 19 MISS OPHELIA'S EXPERIENCES AND OPINIONS CONTINUED
CHAPTER 20 TOPSY
CHAPTER 21 KENTUCK
CHAPTER 22 "THE GRASS WITHERETH--THE FLOWER FADETH"
CHAPTER 23 HENRIQUE
CHAPTER 24 FORESHADOWINGS
CHAPTER 25 THE LITTLE EVANGELIST
CHAPTER 26 DEATH
CHAPTER 27 "THIS IS THE LAST OF EARTH"
CHAPTER 28 REUNION
CHAPTER 29 THE UNPROTECTED
CHAPTER 30 THE SLAVE WAREHOUSE
CHAPTER 31 THE MIDDLE PASSAGE
CHAPTER 32 DARK PLACES
CHAPTER 33 CASSY
CHAPTER 34 THE QUADROON'S STORY
CHAPTER 35 THE TOKENS
CHAPTER 36 EMMELINE AND CASSY
CHAPTER 37 LIBERTY
CHAPTER 38 THE VICTORY
CHAPTER 39 THE STRATAGEM
CHAPTER 40 THE MARTYR
CHAPTER 41 THE YOUNG MASTER
CHAPTER 42 AN AUTHENTIC GHOST STORY
CHAPTER 43 RESULTS
CHAPTER 44 THE LIBERATOR
CHAPTER 45 CONCLUDING REMARKS
ATE IN THE AFTERNOON OF a chilly day inFebruary,two gentlemen were sitting alone overtheir wine,in a well-furnished dining parlor,in the town in Kentucky.There were no servantspresent,and the gentlemen,with chairs closely approaching,seemed to be discussing some subject with great earnestness.For convenience sake,we have said,hitherto,twogentlemen.One of the parties,however,when criticallyexamined,did not seem;strictly speaking,to come underthe species.He was a short,thick-set man,with coarse,commonplace features,and that swaggering air of pretensionwhich marks a low man who is trying to elbow his wayupward in the world.He was much overdressed,in a gaudyvest of many colors,a blue neckerchief,bedropped gaylywith yellow spots,and arranged with a flaunting tie,quite inkeeping with the general air of the man.His hands,large andcoarse,were plentifully bedecked with rings;and he wore aheavy gold watchchain,with a bundle of seals of portentoussize,and a great variety of colors,attached to it,——which,inthe ardor of conversation,he was in the habit of flourishingand jingling with evident satisfaction.His conversationwas in free and easy defiance of Murray's Grammar,andwas garnished at convenient intervals with various profaneexpressions.
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