Fugitive Families

'These well-rounded studies of five Americans who found sanctuary in Britain and Ireland from U.S. slavery and bigotry provide valuable insights into Black participation in British history. Their contacts with other refugees, efforts to achieve literacy and to support their children reveal the ambitions of the dozens of Black American fugitives who lived in mid-nineteenth century Britain.' - Mr Jeffrey Green (author of Black Americans in Victorian Britain, 2018) 'A vivid, moving and impeccably researched account of the remarkable lives of a group of Black American slaves who crossed the Atlantic in an attempt to find freedom and remake their lives, and who significantly influenced the abolitionist movement and the wider Victorian culture of the mid and later nineteenth century.' - Rod Edmond (Emeritus Professor of Modern Literature and Cultural History, University of Kent) 'Fugitive Families brings to life the stories of African-American refugees and migrants who were celebrated in their day, but have since been largely forgotten. Telling these stories now is certainly timely, although this book also leaves us wondering why we weren't familiar with them already. Thanks to Lyn Innes's meticulous research and beautiful writing, they seem always to have been, and are sure to become, an essential part of our collective memory. It is a tremendous achievement.' - Ben Grant (Lecturer in English, University of Oxford) 'In a groundbreaking, engaging piece of research into the afterlives of escaped slaves seeking acceptance at home and abroad, Professor Innes tells a remarkable story which shines new light on attitudes towards race, identity and society in the 19th century.' - Dennis Walder (Emeritus Professor of Literature, Open University)