Chariot on the Mountain

By: Jack Ford

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

Two decades before the Civil War, a middle-class farmer named Samuel Maddox lies on his deathbed. Elsewhere in his Virginia home, a young woman named Kitty knows her life is about to change. She is one of the Maddox family's slaves - and Samuel's biological daughter. When Samuel's wife Mary inherits her husband's property, she will own Kitty, too, along with Kitty's three small children.

Already in her 50s and with no children of her own, Mary Maddox has struggled to accept her husband's daughter, a strong-willed, confident, educated woman who works in the house and has been treated more like family than slave. After Samuel's death, Mary decides to grant Kitty and her children their freedom and travels with them to Pennsylvania, where she will file papers declaring Kitty's emancipation. Helped on their perilous flight by Quaker families along the Underground Railroad, they finally reach the free state. But Kitty is not yet safe.

Dragged back to Virginia by a gang of slave catchers led by Samuel's own nephew, who is determined to sell her and her children, Kitty takes a defiant step: charging the younger Maddox with kidnapping and assault. The sensational trial that follows will decide the fate of Kitty and her children.

©2018 Jack Ford (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

A Stunning American History Lesson

I was fascinated by this book. You will be too if you enjoy American history. A former slave woman sued a White man for her freedom and won! What a triumph! The ordeal of Kitty, our heroine, getting to freedom was riveting and the courtroom drama that followed was mesmerizing.

Loved it!.

This an awesome depiction of what an enslaved person was will to do to be free. I also details what some people were willing to do in order to right the wrong of enslaving. The relationship between Kitty and Mary is heartwarming.

Was a great book

One of the best from this era that I’ve ever listened too, great story line, true of the era and such wonderful way to end that end and new way life.

Entertaining

I enjoyed every chapter. Beautifully written, the twist and turns kept me on my toes.

Chariot on the Mountain

A dry compelling story and the fact that it is based on a true story made it even better.