The Confessions of Frannie Langton

On the trip to England, Frannie asks if she’ll be free in London, and Langton says she’ll be under his power. She is interested in the new, colder English weather, and feels that she has improved herself by being brought to England. As they travel through London, Frannie is surprised by how many people are in London and by the rampant poverty. She carries a letter to George Benham, whom Langton credits as the inspiration of his phrenology work. She also bears the manuscript entitled Crania, which she transcribed for Langton. She wishes she could throw Crania into the mud. Langton leaves her to find a coach and Frannie worries over how she stands out alone on the street. She tries to comfort herself with the thought of the nice dress she is wearing. She briefly fantasizes about running down the street and finding a stone cottage filled with books, where she can sit and write her own novel. Langton calls for her and the vision is broken.

Frannie writes of how the white abolitionists who come to talk to her are always asking about what was done to her, and she thinks about how it would horrify them to know that she followed Langton of her own accord in London.