Uncle Tom's Cabin: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Arthur Shelby is facing the loss of his farm because of debts. He and his wife Emily believe that they have a benevolent relationship with their slaves, yet Shelby decides to sell two - Uncle Tom, a man with a wife and children and Harry, the son of Emily's maid Eliza - to Mr. Haley, a coarse slave trader. Tom places his faith in God; Eliza takes her son and runs away. Tom, after rescuing a little girl from drowning, is bought by her father in gratitude. After two years her father resolves to free Tom but he is shot before he can legally release Tom and his widow sells Tom to a vicious plantation owner, Simon Legree. Tom keeps steadfast in his faith, inciting Legree's hatred. Eliza and her son meet Eliza's husband George who has also run away and when cornered by slave hunter Tom Loker, George shoots him then carries him to a Quaker settlement to receive care. Can all the threads come together for a happy ending? This book, first published in 1853, is said to have laid the groundwork for the American Civil War.