Packaged in handsome, affordable trade editions, Clydesdale Classics is
a new series of essential literary works. It features literary phenomena
with influence and themes so great that, after their publication, they
changed literature forever. From the musings of literary geniuses like
Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the striking
personal narrative of Solomon Northup in Twelve Years a Slave, this
new series is a comprehensive collection of our history through the
words of the exceptional few.
One of the only surviving female slave narratives from the twentieth
century, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical
account written by Harriet Jacobs. The narrative documents the extreme
adversity she overcame before she eventually achieved her freedom. Born
into slavery, young Harriet was taken into the care of her mother's
mistress, who treated her relatively well. However, a few years later,
the mistress passed away and her cruel, abusive relatives inherited
Harriet.
Under the pseudonym "Linda Brent," Jacobs recounts within the book the
horrific injustices she encountered: sexual abuse, extreme cruelty,
exploitation, being denied motherhood when her children are sold to
another slave owner. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,
Harriet's agonizing descriptions are indicative of what many other
enslaved African American women suffered through during this tragic time
in American history.
Published in 1861, just on the brink of the Civil War, Incidents in the
Life of a Slave Girl is a harrowing literary work bringing to light the
courage, empowerment, and perseverance a young slave found in her
desperate search for freedom.
