William Wells Brown was the first Nationally published African American Novelist and celebrated political activist. His father was a white slave owner and his mother was enslaved on his Kentucky plantation. Browns Childhood would also be one of enslavement predominantly working in St. Louis Mo. Until he snuck away from his master steamboat and declared himself free. From here a white Quaker family adopted him and gave him his recognized last name Brown. He began as a lecturer sharing history and advocating for the abolishment of slavery as well as women's rights and temperance laws. After reading the works of Fredrick Douglas narrative biography he set out to write his own, “Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave” which was a resounding success leading Brown to travel across Europe between 1849 and 1854 where he delivered more than a thousand speeches. He also wrote two additional books. Three Years in Europe, published in 1852, was the first travel book ever to be written by an African American while Clotel, which appeared a year later, is one of the earliest novels written by an African American and the first to be published by a British publishing house. In 1858 his play The Escape became the first play ever to be published by an African American