[Slavery]. [L. Maria Child, editor]. [Linda Brent - pseudonym of Harriet Jacobs]. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. Edited by L. Maria Child. Boston: Published for the Author, 1861. First edition. Octavo. 306, [4, blank] pages. Publisher's full brown cloth, boards double ruled in blind. Spine perished, boards worn, scuffed and soiled, hinges cracking, front free endpaper chipped at upper corner, partially obscuring previous owner's gift inscription, pages 147-154 nearly detached, text a bit toned and mildly foxed. A fair copy of an important slavery narrative.
Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) wrote one of the most readable slave narratives with the editorial assistance of Lydia Child. Jacobs was the first female slave to write her memoirs. It is a thoughtful exposition on nineteenth-century morality and how it relates to women and their sexual freedom (namely, the forced relations endured by enslaved women). Some passages were so shocking to readers of the time, that this book was considered fiction for several years.
Dummond, p. 68. Loggins, p. 228.