I understand why this is publishers weekly top 10 books of the year. Flea north is a biography of an abolitionist named Thomas Smallwood set in the 1840s. I had no idea about his story, and I was so glad to read it, and educated myself about some of the heroes in history.

This was a fascinating biography and was written in a very accessible manner. I was captivated from the beginning and found this deep dive to add a lot to the field.

“A riveting account of the extraordinary abolitionist, liberator, and writer Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom, led hundreds out of slavery, and named the underground railroad.”

I love books that shine spotlights on otherwise overlooked historical figures, and this was no exception.

My favourite ingredient of this tale were the real-life, Letter-to-the-Editor type epistles from Smallwood to local newspapers. Not only was he fierce and intelligent, he was FUNNY.

I did find there was LOTS of extra, down-the-rabbit-hole, squirrel trails, but I really enjoyed them, rather than finding them confusing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for this fascinating ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Thomas Smallwood was not a well known abolitionist but the story details his role as a freedom fighter. Abolitionist have always fascinated because they fought for individual freedom with a super human amount of perseverance.

Scott Shane has written an informative, intellectual account of Thomas Smallwood, a free black man, who partnered with Charles Torrey, a white abolitionist, to help slaves escape their bondage. This non-fiction historical book is full of factual information and sheds light on a lot of lore surrounding the Underground Railroad and how so many were escorted to freedom in the north.

If you're a history buff or just purely in awe of this history and amazing change makers like I am, pick this one up today!

Many thanks to partners, Celadon Books and NetGalley for this gifted review copy!

The beginning of this book made my heart feel so happy. It starts with an imagining of what the rich slaveholders were waking up to when all of their slaves escaped in the night.
They wake up and there is no one to get their breakfast or wait on them. It was like "Yes!" "Run my friends!" This whole country was founded by men who never did anything for themselves.

I know Smallwood is already dead but I would die for him. His taunting by writing about the escapes in the newspaper just gives me life. Bless him for eternity.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Scott Shane pieces together the often-overlooked story of the men who founded the first branch of the Underground Railroad.
Scott Shane's outstanding work Flee North tells the little-known tale of an unlikely partnership between a man who'd been enslaved and an ardent abolitionist. Thomas Smallwood was born in slavery in Maryland in 1801 and managed to purchase his freedom at the age of thirty. He spent the next decade working as a shoemaker and repairer near the Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard before meeting Charles Torrey (1813-1846), a young white minister. Over the ensuing 18 months, the pair helped organize the escape of some four hundred enslaved men, women, and children.

Enslaved people have been running away from their enslavers since time immemorial, often alone but sometimes with the help of others sympathetic to their plight. What makes Smallwood and Torrey's efforts remarkable was the sheer scope of their plans. They weren't content to simply help one or two people flee captivity, but wanted to bring down the institution of slavery itself. According to the author, they felt that "if a sufficient number of enslaved people gained their freedom, stripping slaveholders of their wealth, the slave system might be undermined." And so, to make sure the escapes had the maximum effect, they planned to liberate 10 to 15 individuals at a time. The mass escapes did have quite an impact, with many enslavers waking up in the morning wondering with "wide-eyed bafflement that the people they enslaved, whom they often derided as incapable of planning anything or even looking after themselves, somehow managed to disappear overnight without a trace."

Beyond that, Smallwood was an educated man with a keen wit. After each escape he penned a missive calling out the perplexed enslavers by name and mocking them for their losses. He signed these letters Sam Weller, Jr., a reference to a character in The Pickwick Papers by his favorite author, Charles Dickens. Torrey printed them in the newspaper he owned and edited, The Tocsin of Liberty in Albany, NY, and Smallwood had copies sent to the slaveholders in question. It's in one of these letters to the editor that Smallwood/Weller coined a new phrase, referring to his system as "the under ground railroad" – a name that quickly caught on.

The author contrasts the efforts of Smallwood and Torrey with those of Hope Hull Slatter, a slave trader operating in Baltimore. Recaptured escapees were often sold to Slatter, who would in turn sell them to plantations in the South. As an infamous supporter of the institution of slavery, he was often the target of Smallwood's barbs, prompting him to collaborate with the local police and slave catchers to uncover the identity of the mysterious Sam Weller, Jr. This game of cat-and-mouse between the abolitionists and slavers makes up a large portion of the book's narrative.

Smallwood was forced to flee to Canada, ending his endeavors, while Torrey was able to continue for a short while longer. The latter was arrested and died of tuberculosis while incarcerated, making him a martyr to the cause of abolition. But although Smallwood was arguably the larger actor in the escapes and took many more risks (as a Black man, if caught he could have been re-enslaved), he was generally left out of the account of these escapes, with all credit going to Torrey. The author uses his background as an investigative journalist to wonderful effect here, digging into minutia such as tax records, unpublished correspondence, and microfiche copies of newspapers to piece together Smallwood's story. The amount of research Shane undertook to revive this little-known piece of history must have been monumental.

And beyond that, the book is simply a ripping-good yarn, at times reading like an action-adventure tale rather than a history or biography. It completely held my attention start to finish and added to my understanding of the era. I learned much about the period, and I found the author's ability to bring Smallwood's life into focus superb.

Flee North is one of my top books of the year to date. I highly recommend it to all audiences, particularly those interested in pre-Civil War United States history and those who enjoy biographies of little-known yet important historic figures. Its fast pace and interesting topic will make it a good selection for readers who don't generally choose nonfiction works, and book groups will find much to discuss within its pages.

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, slavery, rescue, resilience, entitled-attitude, American-History*****

Before there was an Underground Railroad there was Thomas Smallwood.
Before Harriet Tubman there was Thomas Smallwood.
With incredible research and meticulous documentation the story of this man who was born into slavery but given his manumission and worked hard in many ways to free others and expose the men who were less than human. A book not to be missed.
I requested and received an uncorrected digital galley from Celadon Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book introduced me to Thomas Smallwood, a former slave who became an abolitionist and writer. He orchestrated the escapes of many enslaved people, first used the term Underground Railroad, and wrote newspaper articles (in the form of letters) taunting the slave owners. The book is a lot broader than the Smallwood story. It includes the background and contributions of Charles Torrey, a better known abolitionist. And it also tells the story of a notorious slave catcher.

The author benefitted from the fact that both Smallwood and Torrey wrote autobiographies. And that Smallwood’s articles are all still available. They were published under the name Samivel Weller, Jr. It was the Smallwood story that I found the most interesting. Probably because the book’s details on the slave trade have been written about many times before. Smallwood had a writing style that was sharply satirical. His posts incorporated actual notices published by slave owners offering rewards for their runaway slaves. He then proceeded to flaunt his knowledge of the escapes, his speculations on the possible parentage of the slaves and his insider knowledge of the owners. Seven of these articles are included at the end of the book, but they are not in the audiobook version. Two quotes from the articles:

“I, Samivel Weller, Jr. will continue to SCOFF at, annoy, and expose the slaveholders, and their crooked ways, to their perfect mystification and great pain, during weeks and months to come! The ignoramuses! to think to catch such a weasel as I, asleep.”

“I heard him boast that ‘no nigger could ever get away from him!” Ah, you’re not so wise as you thought for; or Mrs. Tilly could never have taken her child out of your very bed room! On reflection, don’t you think it was cruel, Dr. Gunnell, to make that little child, only five years old, lie on your chamber floor, and keep awake to tend your own white baby, while you and your wife slept?”

The book is thoroughly researched and entertainingly written. 4.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I am embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Thomas Smallwood, a Black man who helped hundreds of enslaved people flee north bu after reading his story in Flee North: A Forgotton Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland I will nevr forget his story. This is thought provoking and easily read book.

Born into slavery, Thomas Smallwood attains his freedom and becomes a strong advocate for the end of slavery. With white activist, Charles Torrey, he helps organize the underground railroad, moving slaves to the north, escaping the cruel bonds of slavery. A hero I had never heard of until reading this book, moving and powerful.

How did we come to forget the man who originated the Underground Railroad? How was his name erased from history?

A decade before Harriet Tubman was secreting slaves North, freedman Thomas Smallwood, with the help of a Northern abolitionist white man, Charles Torrey, not only led hundreds of slaves to Canada, he wrote satiric newspaper articles naming the escapees and their masters!

Flee North is an engrossing read documenting Smallwood and Torrey’s brazen and remarkable crusade. They pit themselves against Baltimore’s most prominent slave traders.

In 1808, the United States ended the African slave trade, but not slavery. As economic conditions changed, some plantations found they had more slaves than they could use, but had to house and feed. Meanwhile, the Deep South’s cotton plantations were desperate for free labor. The lucrative slave market within the U.S. began. If a plantation wife wanted a trip abroad, just sell a few extra slaves to finance it! The slave trade also created an impetus to ‘breed’ more slaves. It tore apart families. And being sold South to work the cotton plantations was a veritable death sentence.

Smallwood wrote articles under the name of “Samivel Weller, Jr”, inspired by the character in Charles Dickens’ novel The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. The letters named the people who were delivered to safety and their previous owners. Smallwood was a shoemaker and self-educated, and yet authored this “running madcap chronicle” for almost two years. The letters are included in the book, and are very entertaining in style.

The story delves into all aspects of slavery during this era: the sexual slavery of females, the lucrative slave trade that made men rich but socially reviled, how the police were implicated in facilitating the slavers, the detaining of freedman to be sold into slavery.

In time, Smallwood removed his family to Ontario, while Torrey, whose obsession had alienated him from his family, unwisely personally faced the slave dealer, was arrested, and died of tuberculosis while in prison. First, he wrote an account of his life.

Torrey became famous. Smallwood was not included in Torrey’s memoir, and he was forgotten. And yet, it was Smallwood who assisted more escapes, wrote the articles, and was father to the name Underground Railroad.

Until now.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

I found this to be an interesting story to read. It is not one I would normally pick up but in this case I am glad that I did. This is a new author for me and I look forward to seeing what is next for them. This is a well written story about an American hero that was lost in our history. A story that has heros and villians alike and the cities that are racial even today. I enjoyed how the author pulled me into the story from the start. This is an engaging story that is fast paced and hard to put down. A story that will pull at your heart strings in part and make you mad in others. There is great growth of the plot that made the story easy to read and added to the value of the story. I enjoyed reading this historical story. I highly recommend this book.

Celadon Books always, always, always has the best fiction and non-fiction and Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland is another remarkable book to add to their list of remarkable books. Before reading this book I had never heard of Thomas Smallwood. There are a lot of history books out there describing the underground railroad and slave escape efforts, but none of them I’ve read mentioned this extraordinary man. Author Scott Shane does just that, uncovering the story of Smallwood’s multi-faceted efforts in such a way that you come to know the man, and wonder how history could have overlooked him so. Although the content is not always easy to read, the book itself is; it is so well-written, so informative, so evocative of the times and places, so powerful. A history book, but not the usual dry history book reciting the facts, just the facts, but rather a book that reveals the heroic accomplishments of one brave and resourceful man.

Thomas Smallwood was an abolitionist, a liberator, and a writer who bought his own freedom and then, with Charles Torrey, the young white activist he recruited helped hundreds escape slavery. Together they organized mass escapes from Washington, Baltimore, and surrounding counties to freedom in the north, and very often preventing sale of these humans who were not treated like humans to miserable lives in the south. Although he was well aware of the danger, Smallwood also documented the escapes in satirical newspaper columns, mocking the slaveholders, the slave traders and the police who worked for them hoping to gain more support in the north.

I’m sure we’ve all heard or read about the despicable conditions of slavery, how cruel and inhumane it was, how utterly lacking in guilt or remorse the owners who committed these atrocities were. But having heard about this before does not make each individual story less heart-wrenching or make this book less powerful.

Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland is inspiring and nearly impossible to put down once you’ve started reading. Another Celadon book that is entertaining, thought-provoking, educational. Thanks to Celadon Books for providing an advance copy of this moving story to me as a Celadon Reader via NetGalley. I voluntary leave this review; all opinions are my own.

This was a fascinating read a piece of history I knew nothing about Thomas Smallwood his amazing story involved me from the beginning and kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #celadonbooks

Powerful and dramatic story about Thomas Smallwood

Scott Shane writes a magnificent account of Thomas Smallwood's story with Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland. I haven't read anything by this author before, and what a hidden gem. I enjoyed it so much, that I have now followed the author and look for more books to read. Personally, I had never heard of Thomas Smallwood, but I am so glad I was introduced to him and his harrowing story about his fight for freedom, and survival. He was born into slavery, but later on, in about 1840 he was freed. He used his education, something he taught himself, and his work not too far from DC, to not just advocate for the slaves still under the ownership of the white man, but he was an abolitionist, writer, and liberator. He even faced against one of the leading slave traders in order to free those, he sold to work on cotton and sugar plantations. Men, women, children, it didn't matter, if they were of color, they were deemed as slaves. This is a story that all should read and show a reminder of how men could explain away their power over their slaves, as if they were less than human, and not who they really were. People. Human beings who should be treated as such. This story gives you goosebumps, and you know the story is real, and sometimes, you may not want to admit it, but though today slavery is outlawed, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Impressive writing. A definite eye-opener. The story is endearing and heartbreaking. Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.

Not only did Thomas Smallwood help hundreds of slaves escape to freedom, but he also wrote, mockingly, about his exploits and revealed hidden facets of slaveholders in an abolitionist newspaper AND he also is credited with popularizing the phrase "underground railroad." Scott Shane's Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for freedom in Slavery's Borderland is the historical account of Thomas Smallwood. Shane also biographies the white activist, minister and journalist Charles T. Torrey, who collaborated with Smallwood in the 1840s to choreograph mass escapes to the Northern United States and Canada.

Shane begins the account in media res, with Smallwood preparing for a mass escape of 15 individuals, including a five year old slave forced to stay awake all night so the baby of the enslavers (and the parents themselves) could sleep without being disturbed. Shane then takes us through Smallwood and Torrey's upbringings, showing how they both became men devoted to the cause of abolition, for their different reasons, and in turn used their experiences to talk about the wider society of the United States close in the mid 1800s. It is a nation divided, with growing tensions centered on the issue of slavery.

Shane regularly quotes from Smallwood and Torrey's writings, and the appendix collects seven of Smallwood's articles to give the reader a sampling of his work (They've also been digitized and can be searched at digitalcommonwealth.org) . Smallwood wrote under the pen name Samivel Weller, Jr as inspired by Dickens, who also inspired the writing voice Smallwood used. These articles, published after successful escapes, would frequently begin with an escaped slave notice before Smallwood/Welliver expanded on the notices to give the escapee's full name and details about the enslaver's home, such as the possible origin of those paler skinned slaves.

Smallwood's acts are courageous. He was born enslaved, but gained his freedom. he worked as a shoemaker in Washington, D.C until his hidden identity became known and he and his family were forced to flee to Canada. Torrey was an idealist who, arguably, over committed to the cause, possible at the expense of his family. Much of Torrey's work was raising funds, both for his paper and for the money needed to provide shelter, transportation and food for the escapees. Smallwood's work of organizing and often leading the escapes, was at times a cat and mouse game. As his success mounted, more organized resistance to him grew. Working in D.C. he was close to the Mason-Dixon line, delineating the North/South divide. Several of the small towns detailed are familiar to me.

Both Torrey and Smallwood would write auto-biographies that helped in the writing of this work. Torrey seemed the better remembered, but Flee North emphasizes the accomplishments of Smallwood in their partnership.

An elucidating look at mid 1800s America, that highlights the central issue of the Civil War: slavery. Shane lets Torrey and Smallwood speak in their own words, and Smallwood would not be surprised that race is still an issue in today's America. Shane's extensive research is detailed in the afterword, as well as his path to discovery. This work grapples with the desire to turn away from what makes us uncomfortable. As stated in the Acknowledgements "Black Americans did not own themselves, sell themselves, rape themselves, or ship themselves south." (eBook location 4839) One cannot separate history by Black or White and still speak of the history of the United States.

Flee North is the fascinating story of two men that helped formulate the idea of the Underground Railroad with their active efforts to help slaves escape to northern states and into Canada. The two men couldn’t have been more different in both appearance, temperament or the legacy they left behind. Thomas Smallwood was a cautious, middle aged freed man that was forgotten to history, and Charles Torrey was a young, tempestuous white man. The pair somehow connected and forged plans to help slaves escape. Then Torrey moves to Albany to edit a newspaper, and Smallwood continues in their efforts alone in Baltimore just a short walk away from one of the most notorious slave traders in the country. To help draw attention to the plight of the slaves that he is helping, Smallwood taunts the people the slaves escaped from in Torrey’s abolitionist paper. But the net begins drawing closer around Smallwood the longer he operates and as a Black man, he’s at risk of being enslaved himself if they can catch him and prove his role as an accomplice. He and his family escape to Canada, leaving Torrey to take up the mantle of responsibility again, and his life becomes endangered as well. This book draws attention to two things that don’t normally get a lot of attention during the abolition movement. The first is where the idea of the Underground Railroad originated. Just as important, if not more so, is the time it devotes to covering the slave trade within the country-from slave states that bordered free states and the move of people to both fill the demand for labor in the Deep South as well as make it more difficult for slaves to be able to escape to freedom. At points the book seems to drag some and almost get a little too buried in minutiae when it could move at a faster pace, but it’s still really fascinating.

Slavery was evil and despicable. Any reasonable person would agree. Scott Shane's Flee North adds a new adjective, messy.

Flee North mostly follows the daring adventures of former slave, Thomas Smallwood and his literal partner in crime, Charles Torrey. Both men would actively help slaves flee north towards safer environments in increasingly dangerous ways that would put both men's lives in danger. This conceit is enough for a great book, but what takes it to the next level is Shane's parsing out of just how many different viewpoints came into conflict during this time. Abolitionists were not all the same. Many people understand that, but Shane highlights those major differences while holding up both Smallwood and Torrey as heroes who were not always the easiest to get along with. Everyone could fall under the term, "abolitionist" but they were not all attempting to reach the same goal.

This book is a great read for someone who wants to leave more about the nitty gritty of the Mason-Dixon line during the time of slavery. It adds a tremendous amount of detail that most books skip right over.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Celadon Books.)