Master slave husband wife, by Ilyon Woo

 

I really enjoyed this true story about a husband and wife, both enslaved, who escape the south by disguising themselves as a master and slave, with the wife posing as a young man and her husband posing as her slave. They had saved enough money from their skilled labor that they were able to purchase train and boat tickets that took them first to Philadelphia, and then to the Boston area. They joined up with abolitionists and went on a speaking circuit to raise money for themselves and abolitionist causes before trying to settle down. However, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made their safety uncertain, so they fled to England where they lived until 1968. Author Ilyon Woo provides a deeply researched look at their lives as well as the historical background, but the book reads as smoothly as a novel.