The Last Runaway, Tracy Chevalier
The Last Runaway, Tracy Chevalier
1 Rating(s)
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The Last Runaway

Author: Tracy Chevalier

Narrator: Kate Reading

Unabridged: 9 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 01/08/2013


Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring and At the Edge of the Orchard Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this extraordinary freedom movement. 

Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker, moves to Ohio in 1850--only to find herself alienated and alone in a strange land. Sick from the moment she leaves England, and fleeing personal disappointment, she is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in a harsh, unfamiliar landscape. Nineteenth-century America is practical, precarious, and unsentimental, and scarred by the continuing injustice of slavery. In her new home Honor discovers that principles count for little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality. 

However, Honor is drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, where she befriends two surprising women who embody the remarkable power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.

About The Author

Tracy Chevalier was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She lives in London with her husband and son.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Teresa on February 03, 2014

This novel was enjoyable enough. However, reading it gives one a sensation of floating atop the story - nothing pulls a person in or attaches itself to the reader's emotions. The story is just too light. The first hundred pages are largely given over to quilting patterns and sewing techniques, which......more

Goodreads review by The Book Maven on August 24, 2013

Simply put, this is one of the BEST historical novels I have ever read. The plot: After being jilted by her fiance in England, Quaker woman Honor Bright decides to accompany her sister Grace to America and help Grace adjust to her upcoming marriage and impending life as a pioneer woman. But when trag......more

Goodreads review by Lydia on January 04, 2013

I am trying to figure out today what made this book so unputdownable last night (I was up reading it until I finished at 3am) and the only thing I can come up with is the character of Honor Bright. She is such a sympathetic character and I wanted to know what happened to her. The Last Runaway is the......more

Goodreads review by Belinda on January 29, 2019

Honor volgt haar zus die gaat trouwen in Amerika. Honor gaat met haar mee omdat haar verloofde in eens voor een andere vrouw koos. Aangekomen in Amerika sterft haar zus onderweg naar haar toekomstige man. Verloren en met geen andere keus dan door te gaan gaat Honor op weg naar de verloofde van haar......more


Quotes

“A rich, well-researched novel—it’s the story of one young woman becoming an American.”
—NPR, All Things Considered

“Well-told and engrossing . . . With compelling characters and swift pacing, ¬The Last Runaway adds a worthy new chapter to a story that has consumed generations.”
—USA Today

“Irresistible.” —O, The Oprah Magazine“Chevalier admirably weaves historical figures and actual events into a compelling narrative.”
San Francisco Chronicle (on Remarkable Creatures)

"Evokes entire landscapes...a master of voices."
New York Times Book Review (on Falling Angels)

"Chevalier's signature talent lies in bringing alive the ordinary day-to-dayness of the past...lovingly evoked."
—Elle (on Burning Bright)

"Absorbing...[Chevalier] creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place."
—The New Yorker (on Girl With a Pearl Earring)

"Chevalier's ringing prose is as radiantly efficient as well-tended silver."
Entertainment Weekly (on Falling Angels).