06/11/2018
The stunning travails of Kitty Payne, an actual Virginia slave who was freed and then kidnapped by her master's nefarious nephew, come to life in this suspenseful and affecting novel from Ford (The Walls of Jericho). Following the death of her master (who fathered her with another slave), Kitty believes her life and the lives of her three children are in jeopardy, because she thinks that without the master's protection, his wife might sell her and her children and break up her family. After a botched escape attempt, rather than punish her, Mary Maddox, wife of the deceased master, confesses her husband's deathbed wish to set Kitty and her children free and helps to make that happen: she hides Kitty and her family in a carriage and takes them to the free state of Pennsylvania through the Underground Railroad. Despite the unfortunate use of stereotypical dialect and an unnecessary preface that reveals much of the plot, the climax of the book is a riveting 1846 court case—the first in history in which a slave brings a lawsuit against a white man. Using actual transcripts, Ford does an excellent job portraying the warring factions of the time: those in the South who wanted to preserve their way of life, and those who felt slavery was unjust. The author adeptly depicts a little-known slice of American legal history. (Aug.)
Two decades before the Civil War, a middle-class farmer named Samuel Maddox lies on his deathbed. Elsewhere in his Virginia home, a young woman named Kitty knows her life is about to change. She is one of the Maddox family's slaves-and Samuel's biological daughter. When Samuel's wife, Mary, inherits her husband's property, she will own Kitty, too, along with Kitty's three small children.
Already in her fifties and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom, and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe.
Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.
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Already in her fifties and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom, and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe.
Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.
Chariot on the Mountain
Two decades before the Civil War, a middle-class farmer named Samuel Maddox lies on his deathbed. Elsewhere in his Virginia home, a young woman named Kitty knows her life is about to change. She is one of the Maddox family's slaves-and Samuel's biological daughter. When Samuel's wife, Mary, inherits her husband's property, she will own Kitty, too, along with Kitty's three small children.
Already in her fifties and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom, and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe.
Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.
Already in her fifties and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom, and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe.
Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.
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Chariot on the Mountain
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Chariot on the Mountain
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940170213863 |
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Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
Publication date: | 08/07/2018 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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