Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir and treatise on abolition. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass encompasses eleven chapters that recount Douglass' life as a slave and his ambition to become a free man. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was published in 1845, and within four months of publication, five thousand copies were sold. By 1860, almost 30,000 copies were sold.