These two slave narratives expand our knowledge of the differing ways males and females coped with enslavement and later ordeals in flight. This popularly-priced anthology contains the often taught Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and the recently discovered A True Tale of Slavery by John S. Jacobs, her younger brother, now reprinted for the first time.

After Harriet's owner, a physician, repeatedly abused her, she escaped his sexual advances for a time by entering into a relationship with a local attorney. Her owner continued to harass her, and she sought refuge in a crawlspace where she lived in hiding. After her escape to the North, she published her narrative.

John S. Jacobs "walked away" as he put it, from his owner, a congressman. He sailed on a whaling ship and educated himself. He then became a paid agent of the Anti-Slavery Society, made a lecturing trip with Frederick Douglass, and finally settled in London, where he remained until it was safe for a fugitive to return to the North. He wrote his story for a London Sunday school journal where it was published in 1861.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Comment: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: This book is diffficult to read because of the horrible reminders of
the wretched life of American slaves. The book is so
well written, beautiful prose, detailed descriptions
of rememberances that I am sure were difficult to
relive. I highly recommend this wonderful book to any
one.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Compelling Account, Easily Read
Comment: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl / 0-674-44746-8

It is amusing to note that Jacobs' autobiography was published just prior to Stowe's famous Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe's work, for all it's virtues, is (to modern eyes, at least) painfully didactic, frequently breaking the narrative to tell the reader what they are meant to take from a scene. Jacobs' Incidents, however, is written freely and easily, relating the salient points of her life, rarely breaking narrative to tell the reader what to think. It is merely presented, as is, and is immensely more readable than other contemporary works. Unfortunately, Jacobs' work was passed over as too salacious - she actually includes men in her novel, and not all her encounters are strictly 'forced', in the sense that some liaisons are contracted for convenience and safety, if not always for love.

Amusingly, these "flaws" in Jacobs' character make her narrative that more interesting and insightful to read. It is relevant and worth knowing that slaves sometimes felt obligated to please certain men in order to secure safety or basic necessities. Jacobs determination to survive and thrive within the system that oppresses her causes us to admire her and to enjoy her narrative as we hope for some kind of happiness and success in her life of few options, none of them good. If you have any interest at all in slavery or the American Civil War, I highly recommend this narrative.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unexpected
Comment: I had no idea that this book would be as compelling as it was. Really, it was a bit of a pleasant surprise. I bought it because it was required reading for a class, but ended up liking it... Who knew?

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unexpected turn of events
Comment: It's obvious the difficulty slaves endured. Ironic, but she endures a great deal more than most. How her story ends is not predictable.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Dover Edition
Comment: Concerning this edition (the book is a must read)... Dover's thrift editions are just that--thrifty. The text is close together and the overall readability of the edition is fair. It works, but I'd like to see Oxford or Penguin make a "classic" edition with a scholary introduction, footnoting and contextual information like 19th century reviews, etc... A good edition, needs improvement, but then it wouldn't have a "thrifty" price!

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