Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical account of the life of Harriet Jacobs, a slave in the American South. The book was published in 1861, and Jacobs used a pseudonym, Linda Brent, to protect herself and her family. The book provides a rare, first-hand account of what it was like to be a slave in the antebellum South. Jacobs describes the physical and sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her masters, as well as her eventual escape to freedom. The book is considered an important work of American literature and is used in many college courses.