Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge, Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge, Erica Armstrong Dunbar
List: $18.99 | Sale: $13.29
Club: $9.49

Never Caught, the Story of Ona Judge
George and Martha Washington's Courageous Slave Who Dared to Run Away

Author: Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Kathleen Van Cleve

Narrator: Robin Eller

Unabridged: 5 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/08/2019


Synopsis

Three starred reviews!

The National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction by New York Times bestselling biographer Erica Armstrong Dunbar is now available as a young readers edition—the “gripping” (BCCB, starred review) narrative of Ona Judge, George and Martha Washington’s runaway enslaved woman, who risked everything for a better life.

In this incredible narrative, Erica Armstrong Dunbar reveals a fascinating and heartbreaking behind-the-scenes story of the Washingtons when they were the First Family—and an in-depth look at their enslaved person, Ona Judge, who dared to escape from one of the nation’s Founding Fathers.

Born into a life of slavery, Ona Judge eventually grew up to be George and Martha Washington’s “favored” dower enslaved woman. When she was told that she was going to be given as a wedding gift to Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Ona made the bold and brave decision to flee to the north, where she would be considered a fugitive but have the ability to live freely.

From her childhood to her time as an enslaved person with the Washingtons to her escape to New Hampshire and her life afterwards, Ona Judge’s little-known but powerful history, culminating in her journey to freedom, is intimately shared by Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve.

About Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Erica Armstrong Dunbar is a historian and professor of African American studies at Emory University. Her first book was A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City. Her second book, Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction and a winner of the Frederick Douglass Book Award. She is also the author of She Came to Slay, an illustrated tribute to Harriet Tubman, and Susie King Taylor and is the coexecutive producer of the HBO series The Gilded Age.

About Kathleen Van Cleve

Kathleen Van Cleve teaches creative writing and film at the University of Pennsylvania. She has written three books, including the award-winning middle grade novel Drizzle and lives in Philadelphia with her husband and sons.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kim

I'm so glad Ona Judge's story is abroad in the world. She's clearly a woman of grit, determination, resourcefulness, and strength of belief, and there are far too few women from her time period and experiences known to history. ...But I did not really enjoy this portrayal of her story. Part of the re......more

Goodreads review by Hannah

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend. Never Caught is an informative, well-researched, swift read about Ona Judge George and Martha Washington.......more

Goodreads review by Trish

The story of Ona Maria Judge, slave to President George Washington who escaped his presidential residence in Philadelphia and fled by sea to Portsmouth, New Hampshire in May 1796, may be one of the most intriguing escape narratives ever told. I’d first heard of Oney Judge and Washington’s pursuit of......more