'The degradations, the wrongs, the vices, that grow out of slavery,
are more than I can describe.'
Harriet Jacobs was born a slave in the American South and went on to
write one of the most extraordinary slave narratives. First published
pseudonymously in 1861, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
describes Jacobs's treatment at the hands of her owners, her eventual
escape to the North, and her perilous existence evading recapture as a
fugitive slave. To save herself from sexual assault and protect her
children she is forced to hide for seven years in a tiny attic space,
suffering terrible psychological and physical pain.
Written to expose the appalling treatment of slaves in the South and the
racism of the free North, and to advance the abolitionist cause,
Incidents is notable for its careful construction and literary
effects. Jacobs's story of self-emancipation and a growing feminist
consciousness is the tale of an individual and a searing indictment of
slavery's inhumanity. This edition includes the short memoir by Jacobs's
brother, John S. Jacobs, 'A True Tale of Slavery'.
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