Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography composed by Harriet Jacobs. Her story is excruciating, and she would prefer to have kept it hidden, however, she feels that unveiling it might help the antislavery movement. The preface by abolitionist Lydia Maria Child expresses that the events it records are valid. Linda hides in the attic crawl space of her grandma, Auntie Martha. She hopes Dr. Flint will sell her kids rather than risk having them disappear as well. The more she remains in her minuscule garret, the more physically debilitated she becomes.After spending seven years in the attic, Linda finally escapes toward the North by boat. She looks for employment as a nursemaid for a New York City family, the Bruces. The book closes with two testimonials to its precision, one from Amy Post and the other from George W. Lowther.