The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written by Himself (Illustrated)

First published in 1789, is the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano. The book describes Equiano's time spent in slavery, and documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible, and his eventual success in gaining his own freedom and in business thereafter.