The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Conkling, Winifred

Passenger on the Pearl: The True Story of Emily Edmonson's Flight from Slavery

176 pp. | Algonquin | January, 2015 | Trade ISBN 978-1-61620-196-8 $17.95

(2) YA Six of fourteen Edmonson children boarded the schooner Pearl in 1848, attempting to sail to freedom. Teenagers Emily and Mary Edmonson have their freedom purchased six months after the aborted escape attempt; Conkling extrapolates from their story the circumstances of and negotiations for other captured slaves. Copious sidebars, period illustrations and photographs, and primary-source quotes provide further context. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015