Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself" by Harriet Jacobs.

"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself"

"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs seems too horrific to be true. One feels that it is a fictional account rather than an autobiography. Jacobs's life was one of unmentionable cruelty and sorrow. It is also one of great courage and sacrifice. Written under the pen name Linda Brent, the book was first published in 1861. Jacobs tells of her years as a house slave before the Civil War, of the sexual exploitation she endured and the incredible sacrifices she made to gain her freedom and that of her children. That was her only dream, to be free with her children. It is interesting to note the class differences of slavery, the field slave verses the house slave. Growing up in the master's...
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