Harriet Jacobs was born on February 1813 in North Carolina. Though born a slave, she was able to learn to read and write, and eventually escaped, finding refuge in the household of writer Nathaniel Parker Willis. While living with the Willis family, Jacobs began composing a memoir in her free time. It was originally turned down by several publishers but eventually became one of the most widely read books of its time. Harriet Jacobs died on March 1897.
