Sowing and Reaping

Sowing and Reaping (1876) is a novel by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. One of the first novels published by an African American woman, Sowing and Reaping is a story of friendship, romance, and tragedy that advocates for temperance nationwide. Originally published in serial format in the Christian Recorder, an important and historical periodical connected to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sowing and Reaping was rediscovered in the late twentieth century and has since been recognized as a groundbreaking work of fiction by the first African American woman to publish a novel. Discussing the recent closure of John Andrews’ saloon, Paul Clifford and John Anderson reveal the starkly opposing natures which collide within their friendship. Although both consider themselves businessmen, Paul—whose father died young from alcoholism—always places morality ahead of opportunity while John, a pragmatist at heart, places his personal interests ahead of everything. Scolding his friend for not c