In 1853, Stowe published A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, with which she intended to quiet her critics' assertions that Uncle Tom's Cabin had been poorly researched. This second book cited actual documents, such as laws, court cases, and newspaper articles, that substantiated Stowe's portrayal of slavery in her novel. Accurate or not, Uncle Tom's Cabin hit a nerve in the United States and around the world. It maintained its popularity through the antebellum and Civil War years, inspiring translations into many languages as well as adaptations for the stage.

Although the notoriety of Uncle Tom's Cabin died down after the Civil War and emancipation of the slaves, it has endured as a mainstay of American literature. Stowe went on to write many other books, but her first book remained her most famous. Critics throughout the twentieth century have continued to examine Uncle Tom's Cabin. In his...