''Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent'' is an

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

parody novel written by an unknown author credited as "Vidi".

Background

''Mr. Frank'' is an example of the pro-slavery

plantation literature Anti-Tom literature consists of the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. Also called plantation literature, these writings were generally written by autho ...

genre that emerged from the Southern United States in response to the abolitionist novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' in 1852, which was criticised in the South for its negative portrayal of plantation life. However, whereas the majority of such anti-Tom novels were direct attacks on ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', ''Mr. Frank'' instead chooses to parody the events of Stowe's novel rather than serve as an antithesis to her work.

Plot introduction

The novel centres on Mr. Frank, a kindhearted but empty-headed worker for the Underground Railroad, where he works to help runaway slaves from the South flee to the

Northern United States The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical or historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the "N ...

and then onto Canada. Originally, Mr. Frank is an abolitionist at heart, but comes to believe that slavery is a

necessary evil A necessary evil is an evil that someone believes must be done or accepted because it is necessary to achieve a better outcome—especially because possible alternative courses of action or inaction are expected to be worse. It is the "lesser ev ...

, for while it is wrong, the slaves themselves are better off under their Southern masters than they are in the North. As time passes, Mr. Frank also learns of the corruption within the Underground Railroad itself, discovering that the abolitionists he works with are nothing more than hopeful slaveowners, convincing slaves from the South to run away from their original masters with promises of freedom, only to be enslaved once more.

Influences

It has been noted by researchers from the University of Virginia that the writing-style of ''Mr. Frank'' bears some similarity to the works of the English satirist Henry Fielding, famed for his satirical novel ''

Shamela ''An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews'', or simply ''Shamela'', as it is more commonly known, is a satirical burlesque novella by English writer Henry Fielding. It was first published in April 1741 under the name of ''Mr. Conny Key ...

'', released in

1742 Events January–March * January 9 – Robert Walpole is made Earl of Orford, and resigns as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, effectively ending his period as Prime Minister of Great Britain. On his for ...

as a parody of the

1740 Events January–March * January 8 – All 237 crewmen on the Dutch East India Company ship ''Rooswijk'' are drowned, when the vessel strikes the shoals of Goodwin Sands, off of the coast of England, as it is beginning its secon ...

novel ''

Pamela Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

'' by Samuel Richardson. It has been argued that ''Mr. Frank'' may be attempting to imitate ''Shamela'' by parodying ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', although this remains open to debate.

Authorship

Almost all editions of ''Mr. Frank'' identify the author as simply Vidi ( Latin for "I saw", as in the famous '' Veni, vidi, vici'' speech made by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

). The identity of Vidi remains unknown, although it has been suggested by the sarcastic remarks made in ''Mr. Frank'' towards female readers that Vidi may have been male. It may also be the case that James Whitcomb Riley, the author of the poem " Little Orphant Annie", made veiled references to the people behind the book.

Publication history

Lippincott, Grambo & Co. originally released the novel under the original title of ''The Underground Mail-Agent''. For unknown reasons, this same edition was released with a second title-page giving the full title of ''Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent''. The publishers Lippincott, Grambo & Co. had been responsible for the release of the critically successful ''

Aunt Phillis's Cabin ''Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or, Southern Life as It Is'' by Mary Henderson Eastman is a plantation fiction novel, and is perhaps the most read anti-Tom novel in American literature. It was published by Lippincott, Grambo & Co. of Philadelphia in 1 ...

'' in 1852, and also released '' Antifanaticism: A Tale of the South'' – another anti-Tom novel – in the same year as ''Mr. Frank''.

References

External links

''Mr. Frank'' at the University of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent 1853 American novels Anti-Tom novels American satirical novels Works published anonymously Parody novels Lippincott, Grambo & Co. books Works of unknown authorship