| Summary: | Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography by a young mother and fugitive slave published in 1861 by L. Maria Childs, who bravely and generously edited the book for its author, Harriet Ann Jacobs, who used the pseudonym Linda Brent. The book documents Jacobs' life as a slave and how she gained freedom for herself and, later, for her children. In her unique demonstration of a sophisticated reading of the literature of her day, Jacobs contributed significantly to the genre of slave narrative by astutely weaving methods common in sentimental novels "to address race and gender issues."[1] Specifically, she explores the struggles and sexual abuse that female slaves faced on plantations and generally in slavery, as well as their efforts to practice motherhood and protect their children within slavery's constraints, where their children might be sold away.
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