Harriet A. Jacobs's "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself" is the most important narrative written by a former female slave in antebellum America. Published in 1861 and under the penname of Linda Brent, the book is a powerful indictment on black women's exploitation in America. "Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women", declares Jacobs before describing the degradation of slavery and the sexual oppression she experienced as a black woman.
