Description

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR, WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY

A New York Times bestseller, the incredible true story of a couple that escaped slavery in the South and eventually made their way to the UK, Africa and beyond.

The remarkable true story of Ellen and William Craft, who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave.

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 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 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. Audiences could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who travelled the country drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionists of the day.

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 the Crafts fled to England to embark upon a new life.

With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife recounts both a ground-breaking quest for liberty and justice, and an unforgettable love story.

Publisher Review

'Ellen and William Craft loved each other, but also loved freedom, and knew one was impossible without the other ... we readers gasp in amazement and wonder at the tragedy and triumph' -- Marlon James, winner of The Booker Prize 'Phenomenal' -- Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois 'Woo's history draws from a variety of sources, including the Crafts' own account, to reconstruct a 'journey of mutual self-emancipation', while artfully sketching the background of a nation careering toward civil war' * The New Yorker * 'Details of the history of 19th-century American slavery and the courage of those who suffered it and the inhuman vileness of those who were responsible for it' -- Patrick Stewart * interviewed in The New York Times * 'A suspenseful, sensitively rendered account . . . Woo tells the story [with] a cinematic eye' -- W. Caleb McDaniel * The New York Times Book Review * 'Superbly researched and masterfully written' * Library Journal * 'A gripping adventure. . . . suspenseful and wonderfully told' * Kirkus Reviews * 'A feat of ... storytelling, sympathy and insight' * The New York Times * 'A pathbreaking book ... Riveting' -- Stuart Miller * The Los Angeles Times * 'A narrative of such courage and resourcefulness it seems too dashing to be true. But it is... The story is so richly dramatic, and Ms. Woo so skilled at spinning it out, that at times it's a genuine nail-biter' -- Priscilla M. Jensen * The Wall Street Journal * 'Master Slave Husband Wife tells one of the most important stories of American slavery and freedom. With prose that is suspenseful, brilliantly detailed, historically precise, and simply gorgeous, Woo depicts the Crafts and their historic role in antebellum America stunningly. This is a story that will stay with you for a lifetime' -- Imani Perry * author of South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation *