The Road From Chapel Hill [Mass Market Paperback]

Joanna Catherine Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Eugenia Mae Spotswood, the daughter of a failed aristocrat, longs to regain the life she lost. The slave Tom wants one thing: freedom. After becoming the property of Eugenia Mae, a dangerous affection grows. But he learns freedom is not something she can give him - he must fight for it himself.

Clyde Bricket, the farm boy responsible for Tom's capture, has always believed in the South. But he soon learns that sometimes the only way to redeem yourself is to fight against everything he thought he believed in.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Scott tackles the dual subjects any writer on the American South must eventually face: the region's history of race relations and the legacy of the Civil War." 
----Raleigh News & Observer

"Once I began this book, I could not put it down. I ate and slept, of course, but in between I read." 
----Joel Williamson, Lineberger Emeritus Professor in Southern History, UNC-Chapel Hill, author of The Crucible of Race

"Scott asks readers to think and question not only the world of her novel but our world as well." --RT Book Reviews

"Deepens and enriches our understanding of the two great tragedies of American history--human slavery and the Civil War needed to end it." --Robert Anthony, Curator, North Carolina Collection, UNC- Chapel Hill

"Scott was born in England and raised in Australia, and that makes this book all the more remarkable. She writes in Black dialect and White Tar Heel dialect with ease and skill." 
----Fayetteville Observer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

Book Sense/SIBA Southern Literary Bestseller
Finalist, Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction 2006 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425212521
• ISBN-13: 978-0425212523
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,820,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joanna Catherine Scott (1943--) was born in England during an air raid over London, raised in Australia by a rabidly religious mother and a phlegmatic engineer father, married way too young, divorced, fell in love again and came with her American husband to live in the US where, aside from a couple of years in the Philippines, she has lived below the Mason Dixon line ever since. Her five novels and oral history collection have all been based on true life stories, giving voice to the voiceless. Her poetry tells stories too. She has six children, three Australian and three adopted Korean, as well as a young man whom she met while he was on death row whom she regards as her seventh child. A Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, she is a graduate of Adelaide and Duke Universities and lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her website is www.joannacatherinescott.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Look into History, November 18, 2006

By 

Pennsylvania Pat (Carlisle PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Road From Chapel Hill (Mass Market Paperback)

My favorite way to learn about history is from good fiction. THE ROAD FROM CHAPEL HILL, sure does fill the bill. Ms. Scott whisked me away to that tense period of the Civil War, when so many lives were wrecked and so many hearts broken. The main characters, socialite Eugenia, now destitute, Tom the runaway slave seeking true freedom, and the wounded Clyde, the farm boy must make life changing and heroic decisions, and while they fit so well into their time period, the reader can see the problems they face are universal and always relevant. For a peek into history while meeting unforgettable characters, I recommend this fascinating book. I, for one, couldn't put it down.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Pat Riley, November 11, 2006

By 

Pat Riley "Thomas Shade" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road From Chapel Hill (Mass Market Paperback)

While reading The Road From Chapel Hill, I couldn't help but wonder was the author alive during the American Civil War? Maybe this novel is a reprint of an earlier work? Or, did some publisher find old diaries and piece them together for a novel? It's hard for me to believe this, but my reserch tells me the author is alive, well, and living in North Carolina.
Turning pages in this book is like watching a movie in your mind. Sometimes in dusty smelly black and white, other times in HD Technicolor. The detail to surroundings,the spirit of the main characters, the accuracy of life as it was during the building of America are stunning achievements.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Damn Good Read, December 19, 2006

By 

Eileen Malone "Author The Complete Guide to W... (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Road From Chapel Hill (Mass Market Paperback)

The Road from Chapel Hill dazzles with its range of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances in the border state of North Carolina during the Civil War. The author's subtle yet constant attention to accurate, historical, details help bring the reader deeply into the story while feeling as though revisiting a familiar time period. The horrors of war, the endurance of love, the repercussions of slavery and the human ability to understand and change--all push the story forward at an exciting pace. A damn good read!