In 1861, Harriet Jacobs became the first formerly enslaved African American woman to publish a book-length account of her life. In crafting her coming-of-age story, she insisted upon biographical accuracy and bold creativity—telling the truth while giving herself and others fictionalized names. She also adapted conventions from two other popular genres: the sentimental novel and the slave narrative. Then, despite facing obstacles not encountered by white women and Black men, she orchestrated the book’s publication and became a traveling bookseller in an effort to inspire passive Americans to support the abolition of slavery. Engaging with the latest research on Jacobs’s life and work, this edition helps readers to understand the magnitude of her achievement in writing, publishing, and distributing her life story. However, it also shows how this monumental accomplishment was only the beginning of her contributions, given her advocacy work over the nearly forty years that she lived after its publication. As a survivor of sexual abuse who became an advocate, Jacobs laid a foundation for activist movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo. This edition also features six appendices, placing at readers’ fingertips resources that further illuminate the issues raised by Jacobs’s remarkable life and legacy.

"Life of a Slave Girl" is an autobiographical novel written by Harriet Jacobs, chronicling her life as a slave and her eventual escape to freedom. Published in 1861, it is one of the first personal narratives written by a former female slave, offering a unique perspective on the brutal realities of slavery and the struggles faced by women in this oppressive system. The book begins with a detailed account of Harriet's childhood, growing up as a slave in North Carolina. She describes the happy moments of her early years, but also the constant fear and uncertainty that came with being owned by another person. Harriet reveals the harshness of her master, Dr. Flint, who relentlessly pursued her for sexual favors, leading her to seek refuge in a secret relationship with a white man. This relationship gives her two children, but also puts her in a vulnerable position as she feared that Dr. Flint would use them as leverage to control her. In a desperate attempt to escape the oppressive environment and protect her children, Harriet flees to the North and becomes a fugitive slave. She hides in a cramped attic for seven years, constantly fearing for her safety and the safety of her children. During this time, she struggles with poverty and discrimination, but also experiences the joy of being free and the hope of a better future. However, Harriet's story takes a dark turn when Dr. Flint catches up to her and attempts to bring her back into slavery. In a heart-wrenching decision, she is forced to send her children away to protect them, knowing that she may never see them again. Through her resilience and determination, Harriet eventually makes her way to the North, where she is reunited with her children and able to live as a free woman. Throughout the book, Harriet exposes the brutal and dehumanizing realities of slavery, particularly for women. She vividly describes the physical and sexual abuse she endured, as well as the emotional toll it took on her. She also sheds light on the ways in which female slaves were used and exploited by their masters, often being forced into sexual relationships and bearing children who were still considered property. In addition to her personal experiences, Harriet also speaks out against the institution of slavery as a whole. She reveals the hypocrisy of Christian slaveholders who justify their actions with religion and the irony of a country founded on the principles of freedom and equality still allowing the ownership and mistreatment of human beings. "Life of a Slave Girl" is not only a powerful memoir of one woman's journey to freedom, but also a powerful commentary on the horrors of slavery and the resilience of the human spirit. Harriet Jacobs' brave and honest account serves as a reminder of the injustices of the past and the ongoing fight for equality and social justice. It is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the complex and painful history of slavery in America.

This is a far-ranging study which contextualises both the historical figure of Harriet Jacobs and her autobiography as a created work of art.

Although millions of African American women were held in bondage over the 250 years that slavery was legal in the United States, Harriet Jacobs (1813-97) is the only one known to have left papers testifying to her life. Her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, holds a central place in the canon of American literature as the most important slave narrative by an African American woman. Born in Edenton, North Carolina, Jacobs escaped from her owner in her mid-twenties and hid in the cramped attic crawlspace of her grandmother's house for seven years before making her way north as a fugitive slave. In Rochester, New York, she became an active abolitionist, working with all of the major abolitionists, feminists, and literary figures of her day, including Frederick Douglass, Lydia Maria Child, Amy Post, William Lloyd Garrison, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Fanny Fern, William C. Nell, Charlotte Forten Grimke, and Nathan Parker Willis. Jean Fagan Yellin has devoted much of her professional life to illuminating the remarkable life of Harriet Jacobs. Over three decades of painstaking research, Yellin has discovered more than 900 primary source documents, approximately 300 of which are now collected in two volumes. These letters and papers written by, for, and about Jacobs and her activist brother and daughter provide for the thousands of readers of Incidents--from scholars to schoolchildren--access to the rich historical context of Jacobs's struggles against slavery, racism, and sexism beyond what she reveals in her pseudonymous narrative. Accompanied by a CD containing a searchable PDF file of the entire contents, this collection is a crucial launching point for future scholarship on Jacobs's life and times.

The atrocious but true story of slavery in the United States until the Civil War. It is the personal history of Harriet Jacobs and her enslavement and subsequent escape to the North, after spending seven years hidden in a crawlspace. The stunned listener also gets to know of the mistreatment of the other slaves. We hear how slavery as practiced by the South was degrading to both blacks and whites. It shows the hypocrisy of many white Christians, who could sleep with their female slaves one day, and still see themselves as good Christians the next...

For the first time--the complete story of the life and times of the most important black woman writer of the 19th century.

Incidents in the life of a slave girl it is The true story of an individual's struggle for self-identity, self-preservation, and freedom, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl remains among the few extant slave narratives written by a woman. This autobiographical account chronicles the remarkable odyssey of Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) whose dauntless spirit and faith carried her from a life of servitude and degradation in North Carolina to liberty and reunion with her children in the North.Written and published in 1861 after Jacobs' harrowing escape from a vile and predatory master, the memoir delivers a powerful and unflinching portrayal of the abuses and hypocrisy of the master-slave relationship. Jacobs writes frankly of the horrors she suffered as a slave, her eventual escape after several unsuccessful attempts, and her seven years in self-imposed exile, hiding in a coffin-like "garret" attached to her grandmother's porch.A rare firsthand account of a courageous woman's determination and endurance, this inspirational story also represents a valuable historical record of the continuing battle for freedom and the preservation of family by Harriet Ann Jacobs.