In the author’s preface, Jacobs insists that “this narrative is no fiction” but a true account of “the wrongs inflicted by Slavery.” The issue of her role as author is engaged in the title page declaration that the book was “written by herself.” And it arises twice in the preface: first when Jacobs says, “I wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken,” and second when Lydia Maria Child explains how Jacobs could “write so well.” Child argues that “nature endowed [Jacobs] with quick perceptions,” that “the mistress, with whom she lived till she was twelve years old, was a kind, considerate friend, who taught her to read and spell,” and that after she came to the North, she had “opportunities for self-improvement.”