Book Review: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

(Bought at the Strand book stall in Central Park for $10) Harriet Jacobs' narrative of her enslaved life is a powerful record of the conditions endured by African-Americans before emancipation. in refined prose, Jacobs details the sexual harassment she endured from her lecherous master who promised her a house and light labor if she would consent to be his mistress (a common practice in the slaveholding South). Her travails include hiding in her free grandmother's house for seven years until she finally had the opportunity to escape to the North. But her troubles don't end there as the Fugitive Slave Law comes into effect and her former master and his family attempt to reclaim her. This is a fascinating true account of what slavery was like and how black people tried to live their lives with dignity and family despite the enormous hardships placed on them. 

Book Review: Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom

(Bought with the remainder of a Barnes and Noble Christmas gift card): I saw this on the counter at Barnes and Noble and the subject matter grabbed me. This actually happened: Ellen and William Craft escaped from slavery in 1848 Macon, Georgia by disguising themselves a young white man and his slave. Ellen was light enough to pass as white and was a clever seamstress. She made herself a suit of clothes and wearing scarves and bandages was able to impersonate a young, white man in ill-health. This was the only disguise that would work. A black man traveling with what appeared to be a white woman would have gotten them both killed. They got on board a series of trains to Philadelphia, then settled in Boston, supposedly beyond the reach of slave catchers. But the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 forced them to move again, all the way up to Canada and then to England. 

Ilyon Woo's narrative reads like a Netflix mini-series with Ellen and William on the verge of being discovered at every moment. Woo details what their trip would have been like with research on what trains, ships, and stagecoaches were like at the time. She also provides context and background with histories of the Crafts' families and their enslavers. Gender issues are also explored. Ellen defied so many rules of the day, but when the couple escaped the Great Britain and went on the lecture circuit, she did not speak. William did the talking because it was considered unseemly for a lady to appear to show agency and speak about it in public. A fascinating read and deep dive into the history of slavery and those who escaped from it.