Book: Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo
Genre: History
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 2023

Source: Hardback borrowed from the library

Summary: Master Slave Husband Wife won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and was the February Black History Month selection for my book group that focuses mostly on books about race in America.

Ellen and William Craft escaped slavery in 1848 with a unique method. Ellen passed as a young white gentleman who suffered from ailments. William played the part of her enslaved servant. Together, they took boats, trains, and horse-drawn cabs to Philadelphia, where they found a tenuous freedom and a large audience of abolitionists who wanted to hear their story.

Because of the Fugitive Slave Act, Ellen and William were not safe when they crossed the Mason-Dixon line. Their journey takes them on to Boston, Canada, and England.

Thoughts: We had a terrific discussion about this story that reads like a novel with the added thrill of knowing that it’s true. The details bring the tale to life in ways that taught me what it might have been like to live in 1848, navigating transportation, sexism, and racism.

I was fascinated to learn about the many facets of both abolitionists and enslavers. We’re taught that these are binaries, but it’s all way more nuanced than that. It gave me a kind of comfort to know that times were as complicated, then, as they are now.

The author asks why this story has been lost. The answer seems to be that Ellen and William, while exciting and attractive heroes, defied expectations of their roles. This feels like a good time to bring their story back into the public consciousness and to ask the questions about how static gender and race can be when one young woman was able to turn both on their head?

Appeal: This is an excellent choice for anyone who enjoys history, well-told. I think it will appeal to readers who usually prefer their history in a fictional format. I also appreciated this book as inspiration. This is a good time to remind ourselves that our forebearers formed clever plans, took risks, and found ways to resist the oppressions of their times.