Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, though written by Harriet Jacobs under the pen name Linda Brent, isn't fiction. It's a slave narrative detailing Jacobs' harrowing experiences.
The book follows Linda, a young slave girl, who endures a brutal master's advances. To protect herself and her children, she hides for years in a tiny crawl space. Linda's story exposes the cruelty of slavery, particularly faced by enslaved women. She escapes north, seeking freedom not just for herself, but for her children as well.