Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

First published in 1861 under a pseudonym, this is the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, a mother, fugitive and slave. The book outlines her life, the struggles she faced as a female slave as well as the hardship she endured to protect her children and the fear of them being sold. As well as a precious historical document, it is also a timeless exploration of issues of race, gender and the struggle for freedom.

Harriet Jacobs (1813 or 1815 - 1897) was an African American writer. Born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina, she was sexually harassed by her master. When he threatened to sell her children, she hid in a tiny crawlspace under the roof of her grandmother's house, where she wasn't even able to stand. After staying there for seven years, she finally managed to escape to New York. Her autobiography, published in 1861, is now considered an American classic.

CONTENTS
I. Childhood
II. The New Master And Mistress
III. The Slaves’ New Year’s Day
IV. The Slave Who Dared To Feel Like A Man
V. The Trials Of Girlhood
VI. The Jealous Mistress
VII. The Lover
VIII. What Slaves Are Taught To Think Of The North
IX. Sketches Of Neighboring Slaveholders
X. A Perilous Passage In The Slave Girl’s Life
XI. The New Tie To Life
XII. Fear Of Insurrection
XIII. The Church And Slavery
XIV. Another Link To Life
XV. Continued Persecutions
XVI. Scenes At The Plantation
XVII. The Flight
XVIII. Months Of Peril
XIX. The Children Sold
XX. New Perils
XXI. The Loophole Of Retreat
XXII. Christmas Festivities
XXIII. Still In Prison
XXIV. The Candidate For Congress
XXV. Competition In Cunning
XXVI. Important Era In My Brother’s Life
XXVII. New Destination For The Children
XXVIII. Aunt Nancy XXIX. Preparations For Escape
XXX. Northward Bound
XXXI. Incidents In Philadelphia
XXXII. The Meeting Of Mother And Daughter
XXXIII. A Home Found
XXXIV. The Old Enemy Again
XXXV. Prejudice Against Color
XXXVI. The Hairbreadth Escape
XXXVII. A Visit To England
XXXVIII. Renewed Invitations To Go South
XXXIX. The Confession
XL. The Fugitive Slave Law
XLI. Free At Last Appendix