Stowe, Har ‧ ri ‧ et Beech ‧ er /stəʊ, ˈhæriət ˈbiːtʃə/ BrE AmE
(1811–96) a US writer best known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin , which influenced many people in the US, especially in the North, to oppose ↑ slavery (=system in which black people were owned by white people and made to work for them) . In the 20th and 21st century, the book has been criticized for the way it shows the relationship between slaves and their owners, and the expression ‘Uncle Tom’ is used in a disapproving way to describe an African-American man or woman who is too eager to please white people. ⇨ ↑ Uncle Tom