Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs

by Mary E. Lyons

Book Overview

Based on the true story of Harriet Ann Jacobs, Letters from a Slave Girl reveals in poignant detail what thousands of African American women had to endure not long ago, sure to enlighten, anger, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684194465
• ISBN13: 9780684194462
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: Atheneum Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A slave girl

This book is a great book. The slave girl,Harriet,is a really smart girl and lives with a lady who refuses to give her away, her name is Gram. She also has her brother, john, with her. At the beginning of the book, Harriet is only 12 years old. She writes to her family members like her mom,dad,aunt,R,and alot of other people. She didn't say what R's real name was because if the Mistress found the letters than they would be in big trouble. Later in the book she sneaks out of the house leaving her babies behind. You'll have to read and find out if she gets caught or if she finds a place to hide.

Letters from the slave girl

My teacher made me read this book I didn't think it will be a good book but when I start getting to the middle it starting being a good book so I think you will like it because it give you a good idea how the book going to end.

A clear picture of slavery

I never had a clearer picture of slavery until I read this book.The Author's Note at the end was fascinating. I found that Lyons based the fictional Harriet?s grammar and spelling on the real Harriet?s letters, written twenty to thirty years after she escaped. Lyons also used real ex-slave narratives collected in North Carolina in the 1930?s by the Works Project Administration. Did some of these former slaves speak in dialect? Yup. Some spoke standard English, too. Just like today, Southern speech has many voices, and that?s what makes it interesting. Finally, readers of the Author?s Note will discover that when the real Harriet wrote her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she, too, invented dialogue with dialect. Have you ever noticed how Southern speech, both black and white, is often mocked in print, television, and movies? This is a quick and dirty way for the media to suggest stupidity. Without even realizing it, viewers might absorb the message that Southerners, especially African Americans, are inferior. But that message is flat-out wrong. Southern speech is loaded with metaphor, imagery, humor, and wisdom. That?s why many people enjoy reading literature set in the South. So if you are one of them, read Letters from a Slave Girl! It?s about as close as you can get to an authentic Southern black voice from 19th century coastal North Carolina.

Letters From A Slave Girl

The story, "Letters From A Slave Girl" is an excellent book! This book revealed the thoughts and feelings of a slave girl named Harriet Jacobs. She wrote what she felt in the form of a letter to loved ones. She describes her pain and emotions in the letters so really it is a diary. In the story she runs from her master, Doctor Norcom, to save her two children. She lives on the plantation still, but she hides in a cabin. She grieves because she can hear her children playing outside, but, she can not reveal that she is there because they might tell Doctor Norcom where she is. In conclusion, this book is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone interested in black history.

A great book on a young slave

"Letters from a Slave Girl" is one of the best books I've read on slavery! It tells the story of Harriet Jacobs, written in letter form to her deceased relatives - similar to a diary. She tells her life over the years, as a slave, being harassed by her master, escaping, and being hidden. It's very realistic and interesting, as well as very emotional, with both good and bad times. I'd recommend this book for ages 11 and up, and I'd also recommend "A Wolf by the Ears", "A Picture of Freedom", and "I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly", which are other great books on slavery.