Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself is an autobiography by African American author Harriet Jacobs, under the pseudonym Linda Brent. It was first published in 1861 by L. Maria Child, who edited the book for its author. The narrative relates Jacobs’ experience of slavery in North Carolina, her escape and eventual emancipation. Initially promoted through abolitionist networks to critical regard, the text received renewed interest in the latter half of the 20th century with the growing civil rights and feminist movements. Today Jacobs’ work is considered, along with the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, to be one of the foremost works in the slave narrative genre. The text has been considered particularly notable for its depiction of the struggles of African American women and mothers.