Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself
- ISBN-10
- 1489537805
- ISBN-13
- 9781489537805
- Series
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- Pages
- 340
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2013-05-24
- Author
- Harriet Jacobs
Description
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is a slave narrative that was published in 1861 by Harriet Ann Jacobs, using the pen name "Linda Brent." The book is an in-depth chronological account of Jacobs's life as a slave, and the decisions and choices she made to gain freedom for herself and her children. It addresses the struggles and sexual abuse that young women slaves faced on the plantations.The book was originally written as a way for Jacobs to get her story told, in part to help the abolitionist movement, and also to appeal to white affluent middle class women who were the ones reading this type of literature at the time. At the time the book was published the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was still in effect, making it a felony for anybody who found a runaway slave not to return the slave to the owner. The events in the book also helped to highlight the impact of the Fugitive Slave Act and its effects on people in the north as well as the south.
