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

Although generally ignored by critics who often dismissed Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, as a fictionalized account of slavery, the work is heralded today as the first book-length narrative by an ex-slave that reveals the unique brutalities inflicted on enslaved women. As such, it is often cited as the counterpart to the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself. Harriet Ann Jacobs, using the pen name Linda Brent, originally published this important narrative in 1861. Written from her personal experiences, Jacobs puts forth a harrowing and in depth chronological account of her life as a slave and highlights the decisions and choices she made to gain freedom for herself and her children. The account of her life and her frank narrative style makes this a truly compelling read.