R. J. M. Blackett, "Brown, William Wells," American National Biography Online, February 2000, http://www.anb.org/articles/15/15-00098.html.
Brown's Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself was published in 1847 and became an immediate bestseller; 3,000 copies of the first edition were sold in six months. The book went through four editions in two years with sales of 10,000 copies. Brown's rise to prominence in abolitionist circles and the success of his book led to his appointment as a delegate to the Peace Congress in Paris in 1849. Presided over by French author Victor Hugo, the congress was attended by 800 delegates…After the meeting, Brown went to London, where he spent the next five years working to win British support for the American abolitionist movement.