Final answer:
The unusual aspects of Phillis Wheatley's book publication include her status as an educated enslaved African American woman in the 18th century, her censored and authenticated writings, and her significant authorial involvement in the publishing process. Despite these challenges, her work helped her to eventually secure her freedom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The publication of Phillis Wheatley's book was unusual because it was a significant early African American literary work published at a time when African Americans were enslaved and denied education. Furthermore, Wheatley's success was highly remarkable given her status as an enslaved African woman in the 18th century. Her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773 and highlighted her exceptional intellect and literacy, which was rare among enslaved individuals.
Wheatley's writing was subjected to the constraints imposed by her slaveholder's censorship, which would not permit a forthright condemnation of slavery. Notably, before her works were published, they had to undergo authentication by appropriate whites, who had to validate her mental and moral capabilities. Despite these constraints, Wheatley managed to exhibit a remarkable degree of authorial control over her work. After a failed attempt to publish in Boston, she used her connections and the support of her mistress to secure publication in London. While there, she was involved in the editing process, revising proofs of her poems—a unique level of involvement for a writer of her station.
Furthermore, Phillis Wheatley's achievements were not only in literature but also in leveraging her success to negotiate the terms of her emancipation. Shortly after her works were published, she was freed from slavery, demonstrating the broader significance of her literary efforts beyond the realm of arts and into her personal liberty.