The former slave William Wells Brown gives his autobiography "Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave". He aims to give a portrayal of his former life, the cruelties he endured as a slave and the reason leading to his escape from his master. He wrote the book about three years after this. Wells has a special challenge to the Christians of his nation to join him in restoring the dignity of the slaves so that they may best receive the gospel message. The novel captures the important theme of the role of the American Church as both the sometimes woeful enabler of the horrors of slavery and also as a force of good that contributed significantly to the end of the practice.