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Master slave husband wife : an epic journey from slavery to freedom
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2023
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Summary
Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Biography

"A rich narrative of the Crafts, an enslaved couple who escaped from Georgia in 1848, with light-skinned Ellen disguised as a disabled white gentleman and William as her manservant, exploiting assumptions about race, class, and disability to hide in public on their journey to the North, where they became famous abolitionists while evading bounty hunters." --The Pulitzer Prizes

Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times , The New Yorker , Time , NPR, Smithsonian Magazine , and Oprah Daily

In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.

Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day--among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown.

But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again--this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher.

With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story--one that would challenge the nation's core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all--one that challenges us even now.
First Chapter or Excerpt
Overture OVERTURE Excerpted from Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Trade Reviews
Library Journal Review
Woo (The Great Divorce) presents the story of William and Ellen Craft's extraordinary journey out of enslavement into freedom. The couple began their road to self-emancipation in Macon, GA. Ellen's light skin color enabled her to pose as a wealthy white male painter accompanied by a servant, William. The couple traveled north on steamboats, stagecoaches, and railroads, buttressed by their undying love. Upon reaching freedom, they began sharing their story on the abolitionist lecture circuit. When the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 made their situation too dangerous, the Crafts escaped to Canada and eventually to England. Narrators Janina Edwards and Leon Nixon bring out the suspense in this thrilling story, while movingly describing the couple's enduring love and commitment. Their dramatic reading enhances Woo's meticulously crafted work, which draws upon rare historical sources, supplemented by the Crafts' 1860 book, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom. The author wisely recommends further scholarly research and analysis to fill in the gaps in the Crafts' original memoir, which mainly focuses only on their escape experiences and not their entire lives. VERDICT This inspirational, exhilarating work, undoubtedly destined for a Hollywood adaptation, is an essential purchase for all libraries.--Dale Farris
Publishers Weekly Review
Historian Woo (The Great Divorce) seamlessly knits together an in-depth portrait of antebellum America and a thrilling account of an enslaved couple's escape to freedom. In 1848, William and Ellen Craft, a dark-skinned cabinet maker and his wife, a light-skinned maid owned by her half-sister, escaped from Macon, Ga., to Philadelphia by hiding in plain sight. Ellen disguised herself as a young and wealthy, yet sickly, white gentleman, while William posed as her servant. Traveling more than 1,000 miles in four days on steamships, carriages, and trains, the couple experienced close calls (William's employer searched their train before it left Macon, but did not recognize Ellen in her disguise and ran out of time before reaching William in the "Negro car") and amusing ironies (two young women accompanying their elderly father swooned over Ellen). After the Crafts reached New England and joined the abolitionist lecture circuit, their former enslavers tried to reclaim them through the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, but the couple fled to Canada and then England. Throughout, Woo expertly portrays the gruesome details of slave auctions; the rigors of the antislavery lecture circuit, where protestors subjected speakers to the "abolitionist baptism" of "rotten eggs and fist-sized stones"; and the exploits of antislavery activists including William Still and Mifflin Wistar Gibbs. This novelistic history soars. Agent: Julie Barer, the Book Group. (Jan.)
Booklist Review
In the years before the American Civil War, the abolitionist movement thrived on narratives of self-emancipated people, who could recount from their own experience the physical and emotional tolls of slavery and the risks they took to flee from it. Here, Woo (The Great Divorce) recounts the lives of one such enslaved couple, little remembered today despite publishing their narrative in 1860. William and Ellen Craft escaped slavery by disguising the fair-skinned Ellen as a wealthy white man traveling with William as her enslaved attendant. Both skilled craftspeople, the Crafts hoped to make a home in Boston, where they connected with abolitionist activists and shared their story with enraptured audiences. Ellen's former enslaver, determined to pursue the couple, eventually forced the Crafts to immigrate to the United Kingdom, where they found work as lecturers and teachers. At every step of their journey, they were sustained by bravery, determination, and their firm love for each other. Never losing sight of slavery's quotidian horrors, this book tells a quintessentially American story of Black love, courage, and agency.
Kirkus Review
An engaging tale of one enslaved couple's journey to freedom and a love that conquered all. What do enduring love and devotion look like, and how can determined lovers overcome their circumstances? Woo, the author of The Great Divorce, answers those questions by taking readers on a gripping adventure with Ellen Craft (1826-1891) and William Craft (1824-1900), who risked their lives to escape slavery in Georgia in 1848. Refreshingly, the text "is not fictionalized. Every description and line of dialogue originates in historic sources, beginning with the Crafts' own 1860 account, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom." With debates about slavery raging nationally, the Crafts slipped away, beginning a long, arduous journey to claim their emancipation. "No Underground Railroad assisted them out of the South," writes the author. "They moved like clockwork harnessing the latest technologies of their day: steamboats, stagecoaches, and, above all, an actual railroad, riding tracks laid by the enslaved, empowered by their disguise as master and slave, by the reality of their love as husband and wife." Ellen, who "could pass for White," disguised herself as wealthy "invalid" Mr. Johnson, and William played the role of Johnson's devoted slave. Along their journey from Macon, Georgia, and up through Philadelphia, Boston, and Halifax, they evaded nosy onlookers and determined slave catchers working under the aegis of the Fugitive Slave Act. The Crafts also joined the abolitionist speaking circuit. Speaking to packed halls, they risked being caught and returned to their owners, one of whom was Ellen's half sister. Sheltered and celebrated by local abolitionists, the Crafts learned to trust those working within the abolitionist system. They agreed to lead public lives, and eventually, they landed in England, where they settled, started a family, and continued to share their story. Throughout, Woo's narrative is suspenseful and wonderfully told. A captivating tale that ably captures the determination and courage of a remarkable couple. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Table of Contents
Overturep. 1
Maconp. 7
Georgiap. 29
Savannahp. 53
Charlestonp. 77
Overlandp. 89
Pennsylvaniap. 117
New Englandp. 143
The United Statesp. 185
Canadap. 259
Overseasp. 271
Codap. 323
Acknowledgmentsp. 335
A Note on Sourcesp. 337
Notesp. 343
Selected Bibliographyp. 387
Image Creditsp. 393
Indexp. 395
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