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The Last Runaway

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The Last Runaway

By: Tracy Chevalier
Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
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About this listen

Laurel Lefkow reads the stunning new novel from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

When modest Quaker Honor Bright sails from Bristol with her sister, she is fleeing heartache for a new life in America, far from home. But tragedy leaves her alone and vulnerable, torn between two worlds and dependent on the kindness of strangers. Life in 1850s Ohio is precarious and unsentimental. The sun is too hot, the thunderstorms too violent, the snow too deep. The roads are spattered with mud and spit. The woods are home to skunks and porcupines and raccoons. They also shelter slaves escaping north to freedom.

Should Honor hide runaways from the ruthless men who hunt them down? The Quaker community she has joined may oppose slavery in principle, but does it have the courage to help her defy the law? Set in the tangled forests and sunlit cornfields of Ohio, Tracy Chevalier's vivid novel is the story of bad men and spirited women, surprising marriages and unlikely friendships, and the remarkable power of defiance.

©2013 Tracy Chevalier (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Historical Fiction Heartfelt
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This novel was okay and I loved the references to quilting and stitching. But I couldn’t help feeling it was a thinly disguised Mills & Boon. The protagonist was so righteous — amazing sewist, housekeeper, values etc — while some other women weren’t so blessed with such outstanding talent and character. And the smouldering presence of Gardin (he reminded me of the unsavoury suiter in Beauty and the Beast) made me think of the penny dreadfuls my mum consumed. I just wanted her to go home — and why didn’t she? I couldn’t finish it.

Not convinced

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So glad I listened to this book. Historically very interesting about the adaptation a young English girl was faced with as she made a new life in the USA and her involvement helping runaway slaves to escape. To a quilter like me who quilted while I listened it had a special charm as Honor the main character mentions the quilts she works on and the significance of quilts in her life during the 1800’s.

Remarkable story

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This is a very moving story wonderfully narrated, you'll feel like you actually know the characters in real life. Highly recommend!!

Wonderful story again from Tracy Chevalier

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