Part of Elm Creek Quilts, book 14
First published 2009
Joanna clutches her needle as slave catchers drag her from Elm Creek Farm back to Virginia in 1859. The fugitive slave loses everything she fought for, including her young son who remains safe with the Bergstrom family in Pennsylvania. Her master punishes her escape attempt by selling her further south to a cotton plantation on Edisto Island, South Carolina. There Joanna discovers her sewing skills make her valuable, but freedom still burns in her heart. She begins piecing together scraps from household sewing, hiding landmarks and escape routes in her quilt patterns. The work becomes her map and her hope. When war erupts, Joanna serves as seamstress to a Confederate officer's wife in Charleston. She keeps dangerous secrets that could change the war's outcome while using her position to help other slaves find freedom. Her quilts carry more than thread and fabric. They hold the promise that she will reunite with her son and return to the place where she first tasted liberty.
Genres: american-civil-war, historical-fiction, 19th-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: escape, found-family
Setting: Elm Creek Farm, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Edisto Island, South Carolina, Charleston
Period: 1859, Civil War
352 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: slavery, violence