New Releases by Harriet A. Jacobs

The Classic book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs. A true autobiography of a slave who later won her liberty. Initially portions of her stories where published in the New-York Tribune, but many of her narratives which involved rape were too much for the general public. It is an extremely powerful description of an important part of American history.

Harriet Jacobs was born in 1813, in Edenton, North Carolina. She was born into slavery to her father, Elijah Jacobs and her mother, Delilah Horniblow. Harriet''s mother died when she six years old and she lived with her mother''s mistress, Margaret Horniblow. Margaret taught Harriet to read, write and sew. When Harriet was 11, Margaret died, and Dr. James Norcom became her new master. Although Jacobs was still a child, Norcom sexually harassed her. When she asked permission to marry a free black slave, Norcom refused to allow it. To get away from Norcom''s sexual advances, she began a consensual sexual relationship with an unmarried, white lawyer named Samuel Sawyer. He was kind and caring to Jacobs. Harriet gave birth to two children with Sawyer, Joseph and Louisa. Norcom continued to pursue her and when Jacobs learned that he was going to force her children to work as plantation slaves, she ran away in 1835. For 7 years, she hid in her grandmother''s attic, and during that time, wrote letters to Norcom to confuse him on her whereabouts. Also, during that time, Sawyer was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives and had also purchased their children. While Jacobs hid in her grandmother''s attic, her children also lived with her grandmother, and she was able to watch and listen to her children from the attic. In 1842, Jacobs made her escape north. With the help of anti-slavery friends, she was able to make it to New York and find work as a housemaid in 1845 for Mary Stace Willis. She was able to be reunited with her daughter, Louisa, who had also been sent north by Sawyer to work as a house servant. Soon after, she was reunited with her brother, John, who was a fugitive slave. She continued to work for the Willis family after her mistress died. She accompanied Mr. Willis and his daughter to England, where she wrote that there was no prejudice against people of color. A short while later, after their return to the United States, Jacobs left her employment with the family and moved to Boston to be closer to her son, daughter and brother. Her brother was very active in the anti-slavery movement. After her brother opened an anti-slavery reading room, Jacobs became involved with it and soon joined the American Anti-Slavery Society. She helped to support the anti-slavery reading room by giving speeches and collecting donations to help support the movement. In 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, and the Jacobs family feared for the freedom and safety. Harriet Jacob;s brother, John, fled to California, where he found work in the gold mines of the Gold Rush, and her son, Joseph Jacobs joined his uncle there a few years later. Meanwhile, in an act of immeasurable kindness, and without the knowledge of Harriet Jacobs, the second wife of Mr, Willis, Cornelia Grinnell Willis paid $300 to purchase Harriet Jacobs and then gave Jacobs her freedom. Jacobs wrote Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl after a friend of hers, Amy Post, convinced her to do so. It was published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent. She also changed names in her book, so people wouldn''t be recognized. Mr Norcom is known as Mr Flint. Jacobs was the first woman in the United States to write a fugitive slave autobiography. After Jacobs published her book, she devoted her time to helping former slaves who were refugees of the Civil War. She supported her daughter as she worked to educate African Americans. In 1970, Harriet Jacobs ran a boarding house with Louisa in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In her later years, she lived with her daughter Louisa in Washington D.C., where she died March 7, 1887.

Harriet Jacobs''s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of the most compelling accounts of slavery and one of the most unique of the one hundred or so slave narratives -- mostly written by men -- published before the Civil War.The child and grandchild of slaves -- and therefore forbidden by law to read and write -- Harriet Jacobs was defiant in her efforts to gain freedom and to document her experience in bondage. She suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her master at the age of eleven. In 1842, she fled North and joined a circle of abolitionists that worked for Frederick Douglass''s newspaper. In 1863, she and her daughter moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where they organized medical care for Civil War victims and established the Jacobs Free School.

This is an annotated version of the book1. contains an updated biography of the author at the end of the book for a better understanding of the text.2. This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errorsI was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhoodhad passed away. My father was a carpenter, and considered so intelligentand skilful in his trade, that, when buildings out of the common line wereto be erected, he was sent for from long distances, to be head workman. Oncondition of paying his mistress two hundred dollars a year, and supportinghimself, he was allowed to work at his trade, and manage his own affairs.His strongest wish was to purchase his children; but, though he severaltimes offered his hard earnings for that purpose, he never succeeded. Incomplexion my parents were a light shade of brownish yellow, and weretermed mulattoes. They lived together in a comfortable home; and, though wewere all slaves, I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was apiece of merchandise, trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to bedemanded of them at any moment. I had one brother, William, who was twoyears younger than myself--a bright, affectionate child. I had also a greattreasure in my maternal grandmother, who was a remarkable woman in manyrespects. She was the daughter of a planter in South Carolina, who, at hisdeath, left her mother and his three children free, with money to go to St.Augustine, where they had relatives. It was during the Revolutionary War;and they were captured on their passage, carried back, and sold todifferent purchasers. Such was the story my grandmother used to tell me;but I do not remember all the particulars. She was a little girl when shewas captured and sold to the keeper of a large hotel. I have often heardher tell how hard she fared during childhood. But as she grew older sheevinced so much intelligence, and was so faithful, that her master andmistress could not help seeing it was for their interest to take care ofsuch a valuable piece of property. She became an indispensable personage inthe household, officiating in all capacities, from cook and wet nurse toseamstress. She was much praised for her cooking; and her nice crackersbecame so famous in the neighborhood that many people were desirous ofobtaining them. In consequence of numerous requests of this kind, she askedpermission of her mistress to bake crackers at night, after all thehousehold work was done; and she obtained leave to do it, provided shewould clothe herself and her children from the profits. Upon these terms,after working hard all day for her mistress, she began her midnightbakings, assisted by her two oldest children. The business provedprofitable; and each year she laid by a little, which was saved for a fundto purchase her children. Her master died, and the property was dividedamong his heirs. The widow had her dower in the hotel which she continuedto keep open. My grandmother remained in her service as a slave; but herchildren were divided among her master''s children. As she had five,Benjamin, the youngest one, was sold, in order that each heir might have anequal portion of dollars and cents. There was so little difference in ourages that he seemed more like my brother than my uncle. He was a bright,handsome lad, nearly white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmotherhad derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Though only ten years old, sevenhundred and twenty dollars were paid for him. His sale was a terrible blowto my grandmother, but she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work withrenewed energy, trusting in time to be able to purchase some of herchildren. She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one daybegged as a loan, promising to pay her soon. The reader probably knows thatno promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for,

Reader be assured this narrative is no fiction. I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts. I have concealed the names of places, and given persons fictitious names. I had no motive for secrecy on my own account, but I deemed it kind and considerate towards others to pursue this course. I wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken. But I trust my readers will excuse deficiencies in consideration of circumstances. I was born and reared in Slavery; and I remained in a Slave State twenty-seven years. Since I have been at the North, it has been necessary for me to work diligently for my own support, and the education of my children. This has not left me much leisure to make up for the loss of early opportunities to improve myself; and it has compelled me to write these pages at irregular intervals, whenever I could snatch an hour from household duties. When I first arrived in Philadelphia, Bishop Paine advised me to publish a sketch of my life, but I told him I was altogether incompetent to such an undertaking. Though I have improved my mind somewhat since that time, I still remain of the same opinion; but I trust my motives will excuse what might otherwise seem presumptuous. I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to me to have been silent about my own history. Neither do I care to excite sympathy for my own sufferings. But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse. I want to add my testimony to that of abler pens to convince the people of the Free States what Slavery really is.

Reader be assured this narrative is no fiction. I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts. I have concealed the names of places, and given persons fictitious names. I had no motive for secrecy on my own account, but I deemed it kind and considerate towards others to pursue this course. I wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken. But I trust my readers will excuse deficiencies in consideration of circumstances. I was born and reared in Slavery; and I remained in a Slave State twenty-seven years. Since I have been at the North, it has been necessary for me to work diligently for my own support, and the education of my children.

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Books for All Kinds of Readers Read HowYouWant offers the widest selection of on-demand, accessible format editions on the market today. Our 7 different sizes of EasyRead are optimized by increasing the font size and spacing between the words and the letters. We partner with leading publishers around the globe. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers'' new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read. To find more books in your format visit www.readhowyouwant.com

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader''s notes to help the modern reader appreciate Jacobs'' perspectives and language.DRIVEN BY THE HORRORS of slavery and fear of a predatory master, Harriet Jacobs, a young black woman, makes the fateful, life-altering decision to escape. Long thought to be the work of a white writer, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the captivating and terrifying story of Jacobs'' daily life on a plantation in North Carolina, her seven years of hiding, and her ultimate triumph.Jacobs wrote her autobiography in 1861, under a pseudonym to protect the lives of the friends and family she left behind, and the work had been essentially lost until the mid-twentieth century. Now recognized as a classic, unflinching portrait of slave life, Incidents exposes slavery on a level comparable only to that of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.