2019 Reprint of 1861 Edition. A haunting, evocative recounting of her life as a slave in North Carolina and of her final escape and emancipation, Harriet Jacobs's classic narrative, written between 1853 and 1858 and published in 1861, tells firsthand of the horrors inflicted on female slaves. In writing this extraordinary memoir, which culminates in the seven years she spent hiding in a crawl space in her grandmother's attic, Jacobs skillfully used the literary genres of her time, presenting a thoroughly feminist narrative that portrays the evils and traumas of slavery, particularly for women and children. As an African-American novel and historical artifact, Incidents constituted a critical intervention into the early African-American literary canon and African-American historiographies of slavery by highlighting the experiences of black women under slavery. Before black feminist challenges to the African-American literary and historiographic canons in the 1970s and '80s, the former and the latter foregrounded themes of slavery, racism, social inequality, and black cultural resistance, but failed to highlight the specific exigencies faced by black women under slavery; namely, institutionalized rape and reproductive violence. Thus, Incidents, along with other black women's novels and historiographies, directed critical attention to the ways in which race and gender interacted in the lives of black bondswomen to produce gender-specific conditions of unfreedom.2019 Reprint of 1861 Edition. A haunting, evocative recounting of her life as a slave in North Carolina and of her final escape and emancipation, Harriet Jacobs's classic narrative, written between 1853 and 1858 and published in 1861, tells firsthand of the horrors inflicted on slaves. In writing this extraordinary memoir, which culminates in the seven years she spent hiding in a crawl space in her grandmother's attic, Jacobs skillfully used the literary genres of her time, presenting a thoroughly feminist narrative that portrays the evils and traumas of slavery, particularly for women and children. As an African-American novel and historical artifact, Incidents constituted a critical intervention into the early African-American literary canon and African-American historiographies of slavery by highlighting the experiences of black women under slavery. Before black feminist challenges to the African-American literary and historiographic canons in the 1970s and '80s, the former and the latter foregrounded themes of slavery, racism, social inequality, and black cultural resistance, but failed to highlight the specific exigencies faced by black women under slavery; namely, institutionalized rape and reproductive violence. Thus, Incidents, along with other black women's novels and historiographies, directed critical attention to the ways in which race and gender interacted in the lives of black bondswomen to produce gender-specific conditions of unfreedom.
"A Woman Of North Carolina."Rise up, ye women that are at ease! Hear my voice, ye careless daughters! Give ear unto my speech."Isaiah xxxii. 9.This volume of Harriet Jacobs' "Slave Girl" is number 3 in the Black History Series.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Ann Jacobs R. J. Ellis. me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 16. And Laban had two daughters, the name of the eldest was Leah, and the name of the youngest was rachel . . . 18. And Jacob loved rachel; and said, ...
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Reprint of the original, first published in 1861.
Long thought to be the work of a white writer, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the captivating and terrifying story of Jacobs' daily life on a plantation in North Carolina, her seven years of hiding, and her ultimate triumph.Jacobs ...
This book is the enlarged edition of the most significant and celebrated slave narrative that completes the Jacobs family saga.
In this volume, Jennifer Fleischner examines the first- and best-known female account of life under, and escape from, slavery — Harriet Jacobs’ autobiography.
Somebody has called it "the atmosphere of hell"; and I believe it is so. First published in 1861 under a pseudonym, this is the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, a mother, fugitive and slave.
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 (AKA Harriet Jacobs)