The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Title: The Last Runaway
Author: Tracy Chevalier

Type: Novel
Genre: Historical Fiction

Series: No

Pages: 305
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Dutton

Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: From GoodReads

New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring 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. 

In New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier’s newest historical saga, she introduces Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker who 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, drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor 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. 

A powerful journey brimming with color and drama, The Last Runaway is Tracy Chevalier’s vivid engagement with an iconic part of American history.

Feelings:
I read all of her books and enjoy them. That being said yes I do think some of them are better than others but for the most part I would recommend all of them. This book was not an exception. I enjoyed the topic, the Underground Railroad, and the characters of this story.

This story does feel a little more formulaic compared to Chevalier's early writing, such as the Virgin Blue, I thought the story cast a new light on a difficult subject matter. Honor Bright, the main character, is an English woman struggling to find her place in Ohio. In coming to America she seems to be running from a past where she feels she no longer has a place. As a Quaker Honor stands by her principles, I'm not all that familiar with Quaker principles besides equality and consensus, as mush as someone in a strange land can.

Parts of the book felt a bit rushed to me, hence the rating of 3. I thought that Honor rushed into her marriage with Jack Haymaker especially after she realizes she isn't really lusting after him but another man. It made the story feel a little bit like a romance novel. A little romance isn't a bad thing in my opinion it just felt a little like it was over powering the story of Honor getting involved with the Underground Railroad and also getting to know those that were running.

While this will not be considered one of the great novels about the Underground Railroad and the Quaker involvement it is an easy enjoyable read. I would recommend it to those have have enjoyed Chevalier's other books.