“This astonishing and propulsive narrative rights a historical wrong …. It’s an absolute must-read.” — PublishersWeekly
FLEE NORTH has been named one of the top 10 books of 2023 by Publishers Weekly
https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2023/top-10#book/book-3
Scott’s essay for The New York Times on Thomas Smallwood and the remarkable story of how the underground railroad got its name:
https://tinyurl.com/tsmallwood
FLEE NORTH
The enthralling true story of three men: Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom, helped hundreds escape slavery, and named the underground railroad; his hotheaded white sidekick Charles Torrey, who would die in prison; and Hope Slatter, the leading slave trader of the era, who sold thousands south to New Orleans, away from family and everything they knew, into the cotton and sugar plantations of the deep south.
Praise for FLEE NORTH
“In his riveting new book, Scott Shane for the first time recounts the extraordinary story of Thomas Smallwood, a former slave who purchased his own freedom and worked as a shoemaker in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. As a free man, Smallwood heroically led hundreds of enslaved people out of bondage, then mocked their former owners in sharply written dispatches in the abolitionist press. It was Smallwood, Shane argues convincingly, who had the distinction of naming the ‘underground railroad.’ Flee North restores to American history one of the most daring African American abolitionists, author of a long-neglected slave narrative, who not only courageously fought slavery but brilliantly satirized it.”
— Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University
"This book is a treasure. Weaving together three unforgettable characters, Scott Shane transforms the origins of the underground railroad from a romantic nickname into full-scale human drama of tears, triumph, and laughter."
— Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63
“Scott Shane has unearthed an extraordinary tale. His fast-paced story is not just inspiring, but also offers the satisfying spectacle of seeing exasperated slaveholders who had lost their human property get publicly taunted by one of the brave pair who helped smuggle these men, women, and children to freedom.”
— Adam Hochschild, award-winning historian and author of American Midnight and many other books
Background Image:: Washington, D.C. in Thomas Smallwood’s time. Smallwood lived with his family near the Navy Yard, large white building at left.