Pauline Hopkins

 

Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins was a prominent novelist, journalist, playwright, historian, and editor. She is considered a pioneer in her use of the romantic novel to explore social and racial themes. Her work reflects the influence of W. E. B. Du Bois.

Her first known work, a musical play called Slaves’ Escape; or, The Underground Railroad (later revised as Peculiar Sam; or, The Underground Railroad), first performed in 1880, is one of the earliest-known literary treatments of slaves escaping to freedom. Her short story ‘Talma Gordon,’ published in 1900, is often named as the first African American mystery story. Some of Hopkins other works included Of One Blood: Or, The Hidden Self, Contending Forces: A Romance Illustrative of Negro Life North and South, and Winona: A Tale of Negro Life in the South and Southwest.