Very intense read because of the violence and evil treatment from slave masters and anti-abolitionists towards slaves and the harborers of runaways. The interesting twist is the author's premise that the Underground Railroad was actually real--real rails deep underneath the ground that provided escape from southern plantations to places of freedom in the North.
There were many ideas introduced that made me unsure as to whether the author simply took liberties in his fictitious rendering, or if there were elements of truth. For instance: that SC actually initially accepted the runaways and provided jobs (after all, this state was in the deep South); that the runaway patrollers could go as far North as needed to capture slaves and return them (I thought that the runaways were given their freedom when they crossed the Mason Dixon line); that Freedom Farms such as the IN Valentine Farm actually were created and used for good; that there could possibly be those who were only interested in their own "gains" as they appeared to be working for the cause of the runaways (SC movers, grave diggers, masters who promised freedoms that were never given).
Overall, a story of the redemption of Cora, in all of the violence, turmoil, disappointments and victories that were hers.....with characters who joined in with her along the way.
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