Jacobs, Harriet

Harriet Jacobs was born a slave in the American South in 1813 and went on to write the story of her life, which was published pseudonymously, in 1861. Hers was the first narrative published by a female slave. She describes her treatment at the hands of her owners, her eventual escape to the North, and her perilous existence trying to evade recapture. To save herself, before her flight to the North, she is forced to hide for seven years in a tiny attic space, enduring psychological and physical pain. Jacobs' story of self-emancipation, and her growing feminist consciousness, is both the tale of an individual and a searing indictment of slavery's inhumanity.

Presents the slave narrative of Harriet A. Jacobs, published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent, in which she describes the trials of her life as a Southern slave, and discusses her determination to win freedom for herself and her children.

Born in to slavery, Harriet Jacobs has no rights-not even the right to marry the man she loves. Instead, she is faced with the demands of a master who believes he is entitled not only to her labor, but to her body. Only great courage, wit and determination will allow Harriet to preserve her self-respect and someday win her freedom.