Welcome to Litsy!

Such a good read! The Crafts were daring and strong in their escape, but this book also offers more about their life in “freedom” than just the escape. Excellently written, captivating, and a great learning experience. We need more books like this!

I forgot to mention that I received a free copy of this book when I volunteered for Authors! at my local library. Ilyon Woo, now a Pulitzer winner, was delightful and eloquent.

12-5 May 24 (audiobook)
A very well told non-fiction narrative about the escape of two enslaved peoples from Georgia and their journey first north and then abroad to escape the Fugitive Slave Act. Woo puts the story of the light skinned Ellen passing for an invalid white slaveowner travelling with William, her husband/slave, in its broader context of the abolitionist movement pre-civil war both in the US and England.
Informative and entertaining.

This is narrative history at its best - a thrilling historical narrative about a specific/narrow event (the self-emancipation of Ellen and William Craft and the years following as they dealt with the effects) with some deep dives into the broader historical background (slavery, the Compromise of 1850/new Fugitive Slave Law, abolition movements) with both the micro and macro narratives illuminating each other.

1. I turned in my last assignment for my MLIS!
2. Crohn‘s symptoms have improved enough that my GI says I can stay on my current medication!
3. Trip to Des Moines for the MAC conference went well.
4. April, as always, is the best cat (My opinion is *very* biased).
5. Listening to the tagged book on audio (so interesting) and talking to my mom about books.
#5JoysFriday

This is a very good, informative book about a couple that attempt to escape slavery. This is a true story and the couple is connected to Frederick Douglass, among others. It's very eye opening what they had to endure and the lengths they went to find freedom. I read this for a book club.

Incredible and important story well told.

📬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐥 / 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 📖

I suggested 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝗪𝐢𝐟𝐞 by 𝐈𝐥𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝗪𝐨𝐨 to my in-person book club, & all enthusiastically agreed to read & discuss it at our next meeting. It's the amazing true story of how Ellen & William Craft escaped slavery through daring & disguise. Ellen passed as a wealthy, disabled White man & William posed as “his” slave. Thank you, Simon & Schuster!

Listened to this one over audio but need to get a copy for myself. Definitely worth the praise. It is long & very detailed. I thought it was fascinating. Especially as a person that recently moved to Boston to learn more about the abolition movement here (& the Craft‘s lived here for a part of their lives). I really enjoy learning so much more than what I was taught many years ago about the abolition movement. As well as the narratives of people

Deserving of all the praise heaped upon it: a nonfiction book that reads like fiction. The story of a couple who are determined to be free, no matter the cost. Enslaved and desperate for escape, Ellen and William make a plan to travel by train to the northern states. Ellen has light skin and uses this to her advantage to pose as William‘s master during their journey to freedom. The next section features many historical figures from the period.

I really enjoyed this book. It‘s told in two parts, with the first being the most exciting. There is so much here and Ilyon Woo makes it possible for the reader to feel just how difficult it was to escape captivity. She also reveals the peculiar secrets of many popular politicians and Presidents and introduces us to writers and artists of the time while also revealing the jealousy and infighting among the anti slavery protesters. Great read.

In 1848, enslaved couple Ellen and William Craft set off on an audacious, ingenious escape: the white-passing Ellen posed as a young man and William as her slave. This book tells their story alongside the changing laws and attitudes of the time and the fugitive slave lecture circuit wherein people spread the word about the truths of slavery. Fantastic narrative nonfiction.

Wow. This was fantastic, I liked the woven way it was written from their perspective adding in the historical content that they may or may not have known themselves during their journey. Instantly captivated and eye opening of a time in American History.

Even with knowing the ending, the first 2/3‘s of the book was stressful. Written as the Crafts are escaping slavery in GA, I was reading quickly to see if they‘d make it….though I knew they did. Well written, good development of who they were before escaping, and their lives post slavery.

This a great nonfiction narrative, African American history book that demands to be read, that we should all know about. The story of a slave couple that escape from the south to north in plain sight, out in the open! I highly recommend it!