Toni Morrison’s Beloved is based upon material derived from slave narratives especially those of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass. However, the great extent of these women’s stories within the ex-slave narratives lies largely underexplored. With the exception of Six Women's Slave Narratives, a significant portion of this literature lies unpublished as an anthology specifically focusing upon the women’s experience of slavery. It is my firm belief that if we were to publish such an anthology, then we would open the door to explore these complicated issues and the work could serve as the basis for a more sophisticated and engaged interpretation of the basic literature. It is neither my point nor my place to delve at length into the life of women under slavery; it is my purpose to provide a greater foundation for others to do so.