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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl & Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Two Memoirs of Notable African-Americans During the Nineteenth Century
The ordeals of two famous African Americans
This special Leonaur edition combines the account of Harriet Ann Jacobs with that of Frederick Douglass. They were contemporaries and African Americans of note who shared a common background of slavery and, after their liberation, knew each other and worked for a common cause. The first account, a justifiably well known and highly regarded work, is that of Harriet Jacobs since this volume belongs in the Leonaur Women & Conflict series. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813. Sold on as a child she suffered years of sexual abuse from her owner until in 1835 she escaped-leaving two children she'd had by a lover behind her. After hiding in a swamp she returned to her grandmother's shack where she occupied the crawl-space under its eaves. There she lived for seven years before escaping to Pennsylvania in 1842 and then moving on to New York, where she worked as a nursemaid. Jacobs published her book under the pseudonym of Linda Brent. She became a famous abolitionist, reformer and speaker on human rights. Frederick Douglass was just five years Jacobs' junior. He was born a slave in Maryland and he too suffered physical cruelty at the hands of his owners. In 1838 he escaped, boarding a train wearing a sailors uniform. Douglass became a social reformer of international fame principally because of his skill as an orator which propelled him to the status of statesman and diplomat as driven by his convictions regarding the fundamental equality of all human beings, he continued his campaigns for the rights of women generally, suffrage and emancipation.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.
This special Leonaur edition combines the account of Harriet Ann Jacobs with that of Frederick Douglass. They were contemporaries and African Americans of note who shared a common background of slavery and, after their liberation, knew each other and worked for a common cause. The first account, a justifiably well known and highly regarded work, is that of Harriet Jacobs since this volume belongs in the Leonaur Women & Conflict series. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813. Sold on as a child she suffered years of sexual abuse from her owner until in 1835 she escaped-leaving two children she'd had by a lover behind her. After hiding in a swamp she returned to her grandmother's shack where she occupied the crawl-space under its eaves. There she lived for seven years before escaping to Pennsylvania in 1842 and then moving on to New York, where she worked as a nursemaid. Jacobs published her book under the pseudonym of Linda Brent. She became a famous abolitionist, reformer and speaker on human rights. Frederick Douglass was just five years Jacobs' junior. He was born a slave in Maryland and he too suffered physical cruelty at the hands of his owners. In 1838 he escaped, boarding a train wearing a sailors uniform. Douglass became a social reformer of international fame principally because of his skill as an orator which propelled him to the status of statesman and diplomat as driven by his convictions regarding the fundamental equality of all human beings, he continued his campaigns for the rights of women generally, suffrage and emancipation.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.
324 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2011
About the author
Harriet Ann Jacobs
105 books755 followersHarriet Ann Jacobs, usually wrote under the name Harriet Jacobs but also used the pseudonym Linda Brent.
Harriet was born in Edenton, North Carolina to Daniel Jacobs and Delilah. Her father was a mulatto carpenter and slave owned by Dr. Andrew Knox. Her mother was a mulatto slave owned by John Horniblow, a tavern owner. Harriet inherited the status of both her parents as a slave by birth. She was raised by Delilah until the latter died around 1819. She then was raised by her mother's mistress, Margaret Horniblow, who taught her how to sew, read, and write.
In 1823, Margaret Horniblow died, and Harriet was willed to Horniblow's niece, Mary Matilda Norcom, whose father, Dr. James Norcom, became her new master. She and her brother John went to live with the Norcoms in Edenton. Norcom subjected her to sexual harassment for nearly a decade. He refused to allow her to marry any other man, regardless of status, and pressured her to become his concubine and to live in a small house built for her just outside the town. Attempting to deflect Norcom’s advances, she became involved with a consensual lover, Samuel Sawyer, a free white man and a lawyer who eventually became a Senator. She and Sawyer were parents to two children, Joseph and Louisa Matilda (named Benny and Ellen in the book), also owned by Norcom. Harriet reported that Norcom threatened to sell her children if she refused his sexual advances. She then moved to her grandmother’s house, and was allowed to stay there because Norcom’s jealous wife would no longer allow her to live in the Norcom house.
By 1835, her domestic situation had become unbearable; her lack of cooperation prompted Norcom to send her to work on a plantation in Auburn. Upon finding out that Norcom planned to send her children into labor as well, she decided to escape. She reasoned that with her gone, Norcom would deem her children a nuisance and would sell them. First she found shelter at neighbors’ homes before returning to her grandmother’s house. For nearly seven years, she lived in a small crawlspace in her grandmother's attic, through periods of extreme heat and cold, and she spent the time practicing her reading and writing.
After Norcom sold Harriet's brother John and her two children to a slave trader, Sawyer purchased them and brought them to live with Harriet's grandmother. Sawyer was elected to Congress in 1837, and took John with him during travels in the North. John eventually escaped in 1838. Harriet’s daughter Louisa was summoned to take John’s place, before she was sent to live with Sawyer’s cousins in New York City.
Aided by the Vigilant Committee, Harriet escaped by boat to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She started living as a free woman and later moved to New York City in 1842. She found employment there as a nursemaid. Her most notable employer was the abolitionist Nathaniel Parker Willis. She reunited briefly with her daughter in Brooklyn. When she learned that Norcom planned to come to New York searching for her, she retreated to Boston, where her brother was staying. She made arrangements for her son in Edenton to be sent to Boston, and she soon returned to New York.
Reward noticed issued for the return of Harriet JacobsIn October 1844, she revealed to Mary Willis, wife of Nathaniel, that she was an escaped slave. To avoid further endangerment, she and her daughter were granted escape to Boston again, where Harriet briefly worked as a seamstress. The following spring, Mary Willis died, and Harriet returned to Nathaniel Willis to care for his daughter.
By 1849, Harriet had taken residence in Rochester, New York, where much abolitionist work took place. She befriended Amy Post, who suggested she write about her life as a slave. The next year she fled to Massachusetts yet again, after Norcom’s daughter, Mary, and Mary’s husband, Daniel Messmore, attempted to reclaim Harriet and her children, on the basis that Mary had inherited Harriet, and
Harriet was born in Edenton, North Carolina to Daniel Jacobs and Delilah. Her father was a mulatto carpenter and slave owned by Dr. Andrew Knox. Her mother was a mulatto slave owned by John Horniblow, a tavern owner. Harriet inherited the status of both her parents as a slave by birth. She was raised by Delilah until the latter died around 1819. She then was raised by her mother's mistress, Margaret Horniblow, who taught her how to sew, read, and write.
In 1823, Margaret Horniblow died, and Harriet was willed to Horniblow's niece, Mary Matilda Norcom, whose father, Dr. James Norcom, became her new master. She and her brother John went to live with the Norcoms in Edenton. Norcom subjected her to sexual harassment for nearly a decade. He refused to allow her to marry any other man, regardless of status, and pressured her to become his concubine and to live in a small house built for her just outside the town. Attempting to deflect Norcom’s advances, she became involved with a consensual lover, Samuel Sawyer, a free white man and a lawyer who eventually became a Senator. She and Sawyer were parents to two children, Joseph and Louisa Matilda (named Benny and Ellen in the book), also owned by Norcom. Harriet reported that Norcom threatened to sell her children if she refused his sexual advances. She then moved to her grandmother’s house, and was allowed to stay there because Norcom’s jealous wife would no longer allow her to live in the Norcom house.
By 1835, her domestic situation had become unbearable; her lack of cooperation prompted Norcom to send her to work on a plantation in Auburn. Upon finding out that Norcom planned to send her children into labor as well, she decided to escape. She reasoned that with her gone, Norcom would deem her children a nuisance and would sell them. First she found shelter at neighbors’ homes before returning to her grandmother’s house. For nearly seven years, she lived in a small crawlspace in her grandmother's attic, through periods of extreme heat and cold, and she spent the time practicing her reading and writing.
After Norcom sold Harriet's brother John and her two children to a slave trader, Sawyer purchased them and brought them to live with Harriet's grandmother. Sawyer was elected to Congress in 1837, and took John with him during travels in the North. John eventually escaped in 1838. Harriet’s daughter Louisa was summoned to take John’s place, before she was sent to live with Sawyer’s cousins in New York City.
Aided by the Vigilant Committee, Harriet escaped by boat to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She started living as a free woman and later moved to New York City in 1842. She found employment there as a nursemaid. Her most notable employer was the abolitionist Nathaniel Parker Willis. She reunited briefly with her daughter in Brooklyn. When she learned that Norcom planned to come to New York searching for her, she retreated to Boston, where her brother was staying. She made arrangements for her son in Edenton to be sent to Boston, and she soon returned to New York.
Reward noticed issued for the return of Harriet JacobsIn October 1844, she revealed to Mary Willis, wife of Nathaniel, that she was an escaped slave. To avoid further endangerment, she and her daughter were granted escape to Boston again, where Harriet briefly worked as a seamstress. The following spring, Mary Willis died, and Harriet returned to Nathaniel Willis to care for his daughter.
By 1849, Harriet had taken residence in Rochester, New York, where much abolitionist work took place. She befriended Amy Post, who suggested she write about her life as a slave. The next year she fled to Massachusetts yet again, after Norcom’s daughter, Mary, and Mary’s husband, Daniel Messmore, attempted to reclaim Harriet and her children, on the basis that Mary had inherited Harriet, and
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 29, 2020
Hard to overstate how hard these two rare documents from the 1800's hit me. Here you have the stories, written in their own words, by two wonderful, intelligent and caring people who were born to slavery, mistreated in a way that their "owners" would never dream of treating their own dogs or horses. Severe whippings, starvation, rape and hardly any rest was their daily fare. They watch as parents, spouses, siblings and children are sold like dumb beasts. These two autobiographies show the fallacy of the "happy negro" and "benevolent slave owner" myth. Their one and only dream was to escape this hell, but this dream was extremely dangerous, as if a slave ran off and then was caught (as was usually the case), he/she risked being tortured, mutilated, sold. Even if they did manage to escape to the the northern States, negroes were subjected there to discrimination. Douglass, for example, had trained as a ship caulker, but had to quit his job after his fellow white workers refused to work alongside him. After the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, bounty hunters were allowed to enter the north and capture escaped slaves and take them back to their owners, so if escaped slaves wanted to entirely safe, they had to flee to Canada. Just think about it: Michele Obama is the descendent of slaves. It is deeply troubling and sad that even today, people of color still have to contend with prejudice.
July 9, 2018
👍🏼👍🏼Very engaging. Told straight, matter of factly, without exaggeration or obscenity, in a principled & honest manner that cannot but evoke admiration. Brings out nuances of 19th century American life, of both slaves and free, that can only come from 1st person experience...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews