Harriet Jacobs

Harriet Jacobs (c. 1813–1897) was an African-American writer whose autobiography is one of the most important slave narratives in American literature. Born into slavery in North Carolina, she spent years hiding in a tiny attic crawl space before escaping to the North. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, published under the pseudonym Linda Brent, is Jacobs' account of her life in slavery, her sexual exploitation by her enslaver, and her harrowing escape to freedom. The narrative is remarkable for its frankness about the sexual abuse that enslaved women endured and for the power of Jacobs' literary voice. Jacobs' audiobook and book remain essential for listeners and readers. Her work is a foundational text of American literature and a crucial primary source for understanding the reality of slavery, particularly for women.