Harriet Jacobs's slave narrative is remarkable for its candid exposure of the sexual abuse suffered by slaves at the hands of their owners. Her sufferings, and eventual escape to the North, are described in vivid detail. This edition also includes her brother's short memoir, 'A True Tale of Slavery'. It's easy to be appalled at the notion of slavery, but this astonishing account, published in 1861, by Harriet Jacobs, born a slave in the American South, emphasises the personal experience. She makes us feel the minutiae of daily life as a slave.