Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

One of the few existing slave narratives written by a woman, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) offers a unique perspective on the complex plight of the black woman as slave and writer. In a story that merges the conventions of the slave narrative with the techniques of the sentimental novel, Harriet Jacobs describes her ultimately successful struggle for freedom. Jacobs's account of her experiences, and her search for her own voice, prefigure the literary and ideological concerns of generations of African-American women writers to come.