Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Book download in PDF, ePub & Mobi
by Harriet Jacobs
Autobiography Slave narrative Freedom and Slavery Race and Gender The Moral and Psychological Effects of Slavery Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Family and Community
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography by Harriet Jacobs written by herself and published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent.
Harriet Jacobs was a runaway slave and mother, and this book documents her life as a slave and how she gained freedom for herself and her children. Harriet Jacobs describes the struggles and sexual abuse slave women face, as well as their efforts to practice motherhood and protect their children from being sold. The book is aimed primarily at northern white women who do not understand the evils of slavery and how it affects motherhood, appealing to their humanity to take a stand against slavery.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was one of the first books to address the struggle for the freedom of slaves and denounce the harassment and sexual abuse to which they were subjected, trying to claim their rights as women and mothers.
It is one of the main books on the subject of slavery from the female point of view.
I was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed away. My father was a carpenter, and considered so intelligent and skilful in his trade, that, when buildings out of the common line were to be erected, he was sent for from long distances, to be head workman.
#5 in Biography (this month)
#9 in History (this month)
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Copyright info
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in PDF or ePub.
WHY READ INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL IN 2025?
164 years later, still timelyHarriet Jacobs’s firsthand account exposes slavery’s intimate cruelties—especially toward women—while insisting on courage, craft, and self-determination. Part testimony, part survival manual, it shows how privacy, consent, and family ties can become forms of resistance.
In debates about surveillance, bodily autonomy, and labor, Jacobs centers a Black woman’s voice with meticulous detail. Reading her now deepens history into experience, challenging myth and showing how freedom is defended in everyday rooms, not only in courts.
Witness and craft
A voice that names harm clearly.
Motherhood as strategy
Kinship, care, and resolve under pressure.
Law and liberty
Ethics tested against unjust power.
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About Harriet Jacobs
Testimony of enslavement, resistance, and family that centers women’s experience with courage.
We have 1 books by Harriet Jacobs in the AliceAndBooks library
