"One of the major autobiographies of the African-American
tradition."--Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
"It has been painful to me, in many ways, to recall the dreary years I
passed in bondage. I would gladly forget them if I could. Yet the
retrospection is not altogether without solace; for with these gloomy
recollections come tender memories of my good old grandmother, like
light fleecy clouds floating over a dark and troubled sea."
One of the most memorable slave narratives, Harriet Jacobs's Incidents
in the Life of a Slave Girl illustrates the overarching evil and
pervasive depravity of the institution of slavery. In great and painful
detail, Jacobs describes her life as a Southern slave, the exploitation
that haunted her daily life, her abuse by her master, the involvement
she sought with another white man in order to escape her master, and her
determination to win freedom for herself and her children. From her
seven years of hiding in a garret that was three feet high, to her
harrowing escape north to a reunion with her children and freedom,
Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl remains an outstanding
example of one woman's extraordinary courage in the face of almost
unbeatable odds, as well as one of the most significant testimonials in
American history.