Books on Tap met Feb. 5th to discuss “Master Slave Husband Wife: an Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” by Ilyon Woo.  A 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner for biography, the book tells of the journey of the Crafts, an enslaved couple who disguise themselves as master and slave in 1848 to travel from Macon,Georgia to freedom in Boston, Massachusetts.  Threatened with recapture due to the Fugitive Slave Act, they continue on to Canada ultimately ending up overseas by 1850 in Scotland and England.

Generally our group gave the book positive reviews.  We gained new insights on the abolitionist movement and the “Octopus Powers” of the Fugitive Slave Act.  Ellen Craft, who passes as a white male, was the most compelling character.

 A few of our readers felt that the story went on too long and included too much detail but with 50 pages of notes at the end, we could understand that the author wanted to include all the details she researched.

This was also timely read as the efforts to capture and transport fugitive slaves and their abolitionist protectors before the Civil War reminded some readers of the current activists and advocates resisting the reach of immigration enforcement in the US. 

The couple’s own narrative of their journey is available online entitled “Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, the escape of William and Ellen Craft from slavery” (1860).

Additional resources: https://ilyonwoo.com/master-slave-husband-wife/resources/

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