First published 2021
Phillip Hesser and Charlie Ewers take readers through the Eastern Shore landscapes that shaped Harriet Tubman before she escaped to Pennsylvania. The authors examine how Dorchester County's geography influenced the woman who became a Underground Railroad leader, Civil War operative, and social reformer. They guide visitors through the physical spaces of Tubman's early years: the slave quarters where she lived, the religious buildings that provided community, the wetlands and farmland where she labored. The book reveals how these Maryland locations molded Tubman's character and skills. Hesser and Ewers document places that vanished after Tubman fled north, now claimed by coastal erosion and flooding. Their work connects the terrain of nineteenth-century Maryland to the extraordinary life that emerged from it, showing how place and person shaped each other.
Genres: biography, civil-war, historical-fiction, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction, american-history
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figure, social-reformer
Setting: Eastern Shore, Dorchester County, Maryland, Pennsylvania
Period: 19th-century
403 pages · Kindle Edition · The History Press