Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl Written By Herself

Harriet Jacobs' narrative of a life as a slave girl is unabridged, and contains an additional annotation at the start of the book. This section aims to give the reader an historical context, and contains a brief History of Slavery in America, and the Abolishment of Slavery. This will help set the stage for Harriet Ann Jacobs autobiography that is to follow: "I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts. I have concealed the names of places, and given persons fictitious names. I had no motive for secrecy on my own account, but I deemed it kind and considerate towards others to pursue this course. When I first arrived in Philadelphia, Bishop Paine advised me to publish a sketch of my life, but I told him I was altogether incompetent to such an undertaking. Though I have improved my mind somewhat since that time, I still remain of the same opinion; but I trust my motives will excuse what might otherwise seem presumptuous. I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to me to have been silent about my own history. I want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what Slavery really is. Only by experience can any one realize how deep, and dark, and foul is that pit of abominations. May the blessing of God rest on this imperfect effort in behalf of my persecuted people!" --Linda Brent (Pseudonym used by Harriet Ann Jacobs)

"Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women," Harriet Jacobs states plainly in this riveting account of her life as a slave, and then sets out to recount, in chilling detail, the particular horrors for women caught in that terrible snare. Published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent, Incidents was the first account of slavery to explore the sexual abuse female slaves endured... in Jacobs' case, a catalog of harassment she suffered while working in the home of a doctor known to have sold children he'd fathered with slave women. Long believed to have been written by a white author as a fictional novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl rings with a ghastly truth that still has the power to haunt modern readers.

John Jacobs' short slave narrative, "A True Tale of Slavery", published in London in 1861, adds a brother's perspective to Harriet Jacobs' autobiography. This book is the enlarged edition of the most significant and celebrated slave narrative that completes the Jacobs family saga.

“This may be the most important story ever written by a slave woman, capturing as it does the gross indignities as well as the subtler social arrangements of the time.”-Kirkus Review “Of female slave narratives, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself is the crowning achievement. Manifesting a command of rhetorical and narrative strategies rivaled only by that of Frederick Douglass, Jacobs's autobiography is one of the major works of Afro-American literature”-Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl, the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, was initially written with the intention of illuminating white abolitionists to the appalling treatment of female slaves in the pre-Civil War South of the United States. The book was later rediscovered in the 1960’s, and it was not until the 1980s that it was proved to be an extraordinary work of autobiographical memoir as opposed to fiction. In this astonishing book, Harriet Jacobs uses the pseudonym of Linda Brent to recount her story as a slave, a mother, and her eventual escape to the north. Born into a relatively calm life as a young child to slaves, she is taken into the care of a kind mistress when her mother dies. Linda is taught to read and write, and is generally treated with respect. When the mistress passes away Linda is handed over to Dr. Flint. He is a negligent and cruel new master who subsequently pressures Linda for sexual favors, yet she resists his demands for years. In an attempt to circumvent the situation, Linda enters into a relationship with Mr. Sands, a white neighbor who ends up fathering her two children. Expecting that she and her children will be sold to Mr. Sands, Dr. Flint instead decides to subject them to further degradation. Linda escapes and goes into hiding in a small attic, and her children are eventually sold to Mr. Sand. For over seven years, Linda remains in hiding, until she ultimately escapes North to be reunited with her children. Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl is a devastating yet empowering document that uniquely focuses on the psychological and spiritual effects that bondage had on women slaves and their families. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is both modern and readable.

Harriet Jacobs's slave narrative is remarkable for its candid exposure of the sexual abuse suffered by slaves at the hands of their owners. Her sufferings, and eventual escape to the North, are described in vivid detail. This edition also includes her brother's short memoir, 'A True Tale of Slavery'.

For the first time--the complete story of the life and times of the most important black woman writer of the 19th century.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, written by herself is an autobiography by a young mother and fugitive slave published in 1861 by L. Maria Child, who edited the book for its author, Harriet Ann Jacobs. Jacobs used the pseudonym Linda Brent. The book documents Jacobs's life as a slave and how she gained freedom for herself and for her children. Jacobs contributed to the genre of slave narrative by using the techniques of sentimental novels "to address race and gender issues." She explores the struggles and sexual abuse that female slaves faced on plantations as well as their efforts to practice motherhood and protect their children when their children might be sold away.In the book, Jacobs addresses white Northern women who fail to comprehend the evils of slavery. She makes direct appeals to their humanity to expand their knowledge and influence their thoughts about slavery as an institution.Jacobs began composing Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl after her escape to New York, while living and working at Idlewild, the Hudson River home of writer and publisher Nathaniel Parker Willis.[2] Portions of her journals were published in serial form in the New-York Tribune, owned and edited by Horace Greeley. Jacobs's reports of sexual abuse were deemed too shocking for the average newspaper reader of the day, and publication ceased before the completion of the narrative.

The atrocious but true story of slavery in the United States until the Civil War. It is the personal history of Harriet Jacobs and her enslavement and subsequent escape to the North, after spending seven years hidden in a crawlspace. The stunned listener also gets to know of the mistreatment of the other slaves. We hear how slavery as practiced by the South was degrading to both blacks and whites. It shows the hypocrisy of many white Christians, who could sleep with their female slaves one day, and still see themselves as good Christians the next...