Tormented by her master, a young mother plots a daring escape, in this courageous and captivating slave narrative When her mother dies, six-year-old slave girl Linda Brent is sent to the big house, where she grows up serving a gentle mistress who teaches her to read and write. But the mistress's death brings about a sudden and terrible change in Linda's fortunes.   Her lecherous new master torments Linda mercilessly, making her life a living hell. Unable to join her two young children in their escape to the North, Linda hides in the attic above her grandmother's house. For seven years, she waits for the opportunity to flee North Carolina and reunite with her son and daughter in the land of freedom. But when the chance finally comes, Linda discovers she has yet more pain to endure.   Based on the true story of Harriet Jacobs's escape from the South, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of American literature's most powerful indictments of the evils of slavery.   This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.  

Originally published in 1861, Austin Steward's memoir has long been a staple source of first-hand evidence about activism against slavery and racism by freed blacks. Long out of print, the narrative is now available with additional biographical information and a critical introduction by historian Graham Hodges. The introduction affords an in-depth discussion of Steward's career-rising from enslavement to success as a self-made businessman in upstate New York and as leader of the ill-fated Wilberforce Colony in Ontario, Canada. Hodges also expands upon previous recognition of Steward's sizable role in free black activism in the antebellum northern states. Replete with images from Steward's life, this new edition of his classic narrative is stocked with details about the author's relationships with antislavery activists Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Nathaniel Paul, and Gerrit Smith. The book offers insight into the creation of African American community life in upstate New York and into the doomed black utopia of Wilberforce.