Catalogue of the Extensive and Valuable Collection of Manuscripts in All Languages, Formed b... Book

This is definitely worth the short time it takes to read, even with its limitations and controversies, as it is one of the few narratives of slavery in the North.

Isabella Baumfree was born in Ulster County, New York ca. 1797, her slave name including the last name of her Dutch owners. This narrative tells of her life with this family and several successive owners, her escape from slavery in 1827, her successful lawsuit against the white owner who had illegally sold her son, her early engagement with several Christian denominations and sects, her decision to change her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843, and emergence as a well-known abolitionist and women's rights activist and speaker.

This original narrative was published in 1850 and, therefore, doesn't cover the remaining more than three decades of Sojourner's activism before her death in 1883 in her home in Battle Creek, Michigan. The narrative is also problematic because of the intrusiveness of the editorial comments of Olive Gilbert, Sojourner's friend, to whom she dictated her story, being unable to read or write herself. Read this Duke University Library blog posting for an interesting take on the authorship of the narrative:

Read this and you may decide to tackle one of the many more comprehensive biographies of this remarkable woman.