Adventures of High John the Conqueror (American Storytelling) - Softcover

High John the conqueror was a figure in trickster stories told by African-American slaves; the sixteen stories in this collection illustrate moments in the life of this folk character. Among the stories included here are tales of High Joh the conqueror as a free man after Emancipation, when Old Master vanished, only to be replaced by Old Boss.--The Multicultural Review

The 16 segments of this collection are filled with the laudable escapades of High John the Conqueror, a fellow about whom slaves told trickster stories (that somehow never reached the ears of white owners). In one tale, which vividly illustrates the truism "knowledge means power," John (who is determined to be the smartest slave on the plantation) sits under the kitchen window nightly, listening to Master and Missy's conversations. Each night Master outlines a different task John will be assigned the following day. When Master goes to inform John of the task, John either has the job underway or completed. Master, believing John to be omniscient, bets the plantation on the slave's ability. What follows that bet (and courses through all these stories) is a combination of remarkable folktelling with the ironic circumstances wrought by human beings making slaves of other human beings. A superior companion to Afro-American Folktales edited by Roger D. Abrahams.--Publishers Weekly

Presents a collection of sixteen tales about High John the Conqueror, the traditional trickster hero of African-Americans during and immediately after the time of slavery. Reissue.