Master Slave Husband Wife by Ilyon Woo

 

Title:  Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom

Author:  Ilyon Woo

Narrated by:  Janina Edwards and Leon Nixon

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 54 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

What book would you like to see made into a movie?  Master Slave Husband Wife is the true story of Ellen and William Craft and their daring escape from slavery in 1848.  It was a riveting book and I can’t believe their story has not yet been made into a movie!

Ellen was a light skinned woman who was enslaved by her half-sister.  William was a cabinet maker and was rented out to ply his trade.  When Ellen’s half-sister’s husband was faced with trying financial times and started selling off slaves, the two came up with a daring plan to escape north.  Ellen dressed up as a fragile young white man who was traveling with his slave, William.  The two took trains, boats, and carriages as they traveled north.  There were many moments of suspense that the two would be caught along the way, but they did make it.

Soon after their escape, they traveled through the north on a speaking tour with William Wells Brown and Frederick Douglass telling of their escape.  After the tour they settled down and William owned his own business. Unfortunately, this safety was not to last as the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850.  Soon there were people after Ellen and William, and they had to make another escape to Canada and then on to England. 

This was an eye-opening book.  I find it horrifying that someone would own their own children and gift one child to another.  Ellen was a particularly troublesome child as she was often mistaken for a legitimate child with her light skin.  Reading about how William’s family was broken up was also heartbreaking.

 I liked that Ellen and William were able to fake their confidence to make it.  They needed that confidence to act like a gentleman and servant.  I also loved just how smart their plan was.  Ellen wore a shoulder harness to appear like she had an injury so that she couldn’t sign her name (she couldn’t read or write).  She also had poultices on her face to appear ill to help cover up her lack of facial hair.   Such a sickly person would definitely need a slave with her at all times. 

It was disturbing that once they fled to Canada, they were still treated with prejudice and had a hard time getting out of the country. Once they made it to England they were surprised to be treated as human beings with dignity.

Author Ilyon Woo did a masterful job of weaving a compelling narrative.  Woo also included a lot of great background information on the abolition movement that I thought was very interesting.   Janina Edwards and Leon Nixon were captivating narrators.

I read this in February for Black History month, but I’m a bit late on my posting.