The Garies and Their Friends

The Garies and Their Friends (1857) is the only novel by author Frank J. Webb, a Black man from Philadelphia. It is one of the first published novels by a Black American and is considered a social novel or social problem novel. The Garies and Their Friends is the story of a multiracial family, the Garies; their allies, the Ellis family and a Black real-estate developer, Mr. Walters; and their enemies, the Stevens family. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Routledge Press. It was not published initially in the United States because of its treatment of the subject of interracial marriage, which was controversial in the US at the time. This novel deals with issues of race and racism in the antebellum Northern United States and the solidarity and resistance of Black communities in the face of this discrimination. The Garies and Their Friends is an important text in the history of Black American literature that raised awareness about the challenges faced by free Black communities in the North prior to the Civil War.

This guide refers to the 1997 Johns Hopkin University Press edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of enslavement, racism, racist violence, discrimination, offensive terms for Black people, murder and death, suicide, and alcohol addiction.