Despite the personal nature of his narrative, The Anderson Surpriser (1895), Robert Anderson provides few details about his life or background. He does mention that he was born a slave in 1819 and joined the Methodist Episcopal church in 1839. At some point, he purchased freedom for himself, his wife, his mother, and his grandmother. In 1893 and 1894, despite his advanced age, Anderson traveled throughout Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to promote the new edition of his autobiography, The Life of Rev. Robert Anderson, published in 1892. In The Anderson Surpriser he writes about the cities he visited on this trip, the churches he attended and in which he preached, friends he encountered, people he met, and the success he had in securing donations or book sales. The narrative also includes a sermon given by "Rebren Nepchune Kinlaw" on the topic of Adam and Eve and written in dialect. Anderson concludes his work with three poems about aging and death, written by others.

Monique Prince