Heard an extract on Radio 4. This is a shocking book about slavery in the deep south in the 19th century, but it is not a very good book. The plotting is messy, there is very little serious character interaction, so the narrative drive is really whether Cora will ultimately escape from the slave catchers who relentlessly pursue her. (She does, but it’s a bit artificial).
I was confused, not knowing the history, how the different southern US states seemed to have different attitudes and rules about slavery. It seemed really that the further North you could get (ideally Canada), the safer you were but North and South Carolina seemed to be completely different. I found it difficult to understand how the underground railways (which I believe really existed) were built and how the steam locomotives can have run underground without a giveaway exit for the steam? So interesting but limited in quality.
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