Harriet Jacob's autobiography "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; Written by Herself," was first published in 1861, and is considered a classic of slave literature. Harriet was born in Edenton, North Carolina, around 1813. When she was six years old her mother died and she learned that she was a slave. Her story is of the cruel treatment inflicted on her by her master, of her daring escape, and the years she spent separated from her children. Author Jennifer Fleischner had told the story of Harriet Jacobs before in a chapter of her book "Mastering Slavery: Memory, Family, and Identity in Women's Slave Narratives." In "I Was Born a Slave: The Story of Harriet Jacobs," Felischner retells the story for a juvenile audience, illustrated with prints by Melanie Reim that aptly capture the times and the subject.

It is reductionalistic but nonetheless true that what makes the story of Harriet Jacobs compelling is that it is the story of a real slave girl, unlike the fictionalized account in Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The brutal treatment of slaves is omnipresent and includes much more than savage physical beatings. American history books are filled with photographs of slaves, at work in the fields or bearing the scars of their whippings, and there are lines about the practice of slavery. But there is nothing comparable to a complete narrative of a real slave to flesh out the institution. "I Was Born a Slave" in under 100 pages, in large print, which means I think that a teacher could read it to their students in two days as the centerpiece of a unit on slavery. Students interested in exploring the topic will find this a vital resource in their studies.

Mastering slavery is an excellent book. Jennifer Fleischner has written a truly interdisciplinary account of a subject that is too often simplified. The intensely complex relationships that existed in the plantation system are examined in this book through the lens of psychoanalysis and literary history, a unique treatment of the subject, as far as I can tell. Fleischner, a former professor of mine at SUNYA, brings to her writing the same rigor she demanded in her classroom, a space where scholarship still matters.

Compelling portrait of the changing status of women during the 19th century in America. Elizabeth Keckly's story of coming up from slavery and enduring emotional and physical hardships is shocking in it's matter of fact presentation. Somehow, her dignity brings to sharp focus the inhumanity of slavery and clearly shows the untenable situation the mistress' of the house also had to indure. Her ultimate success as a business woman and friend of Mary Lincoln is heartwarming and natural.

Mary Lincoln's parallel story, in contrast, begins in a rich, cultivated, "safe" home, leads to a highly public "successful" match, and yet ends in maddness. The troubling effects of untreated illness and too many deaths in her life are devastating, and have forever changed my outlook on this much maligned former first lady.

To our sensibilities, she was a victim of the social and intellectual view of a "proper" woman's place in 19th century society. Lizzy's ultimate successes were hard won, but as a former slave she, ironically, was given more freedom from society's constraints than Mary. The very things that Lizzy could do that made her "respectable" would have been considered a huge step down for Mary.

I loved every moment of this book. I didn't want it to end. Its portrait of a time in our history is beautifully realized and has given me new respect for the women of the Civil War era. If you're interested in women's history, American history, or biographies this is a must have.