The Last Runaway

December 10, 2012
Chevalier’s (Girl with a Pearl Earring) haunting seventh novel delves into the difference between a theory of belief and its practice. When young Quaker Honor Bright’s fiancé breaks off the relationship to marry outside the faith, Honor goes to America in 1850 with her sister, Grace. Grace is engaged to marry Adam Cox, a young man from their hometown who followed his brother to Faithwell, Ohio. Unfortunately, Grace dies en route, and Honor arrives in Ohio to find Adam sharing a house with Abigail, his sister-in-law, made a widow by the death of Adam’s brother. Honor moves into the house, but feels tense and unwelcome. In Belle Mills, a milliner who appreciates Honor’s sewing skills, Honor finds a friend and ally. Honor also draws the attention of Belle’s brother, Donovan, a slave hunter, and Jack Haymaker, a local farmer, a man “like a pulled muscle that Honor sensed every time she moved.” They marry and Honor, drawn by her sympathies into helping the Underground Railroad, is forced to choose between living her beliefs and merely speaking them. The birth of her own child raises the stakes, and she takes a unique stand in her untenable situation. Honor’s aching loneliness, overwhelming kindness, and stubborn convictions are beautifully rendered, as are the complexities of all the supporting characters and the vastness of the harsh landscape. Honor’s quiet determination provides a stark contrast to the roiling emotions of the slave issue, the abolitionist fight, and the often personal consequences. Chevalier’s thought-provoking, lyrical novel doesn’t allow any of her characters an easy way out. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider.

August 1, 2012

For the first time ever, the American-born, London-based Chevalier is using America as a backdrop. Leaving home after suffering a disappointment, English Quaker Honor Bright ends up in 1850 Ohio, where she finds folks--even Quakers--pragmatically unprincipled and becomes involved in the Underground Railroad.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2012

English Quaker Honor Bright wants nothing more than to lead a simple and righteous life, but when her engagement to her childhood sweetheart is broken, Honor sails for America and the great unknown of the Ohio frontier. Though she begins her journey with optimism, it quickly fades when tragedy strikes, and Honor finds herself alone and afraid in her new home, depending, for the first time, on the kindness of strangers. Swept up in America's antislavery movement, forced to choose between loyalties to those she loves and the greater good, Honor discovers that the world is not as simple as she once believed. VERDICT Chevalier's (The Girl with the Pearl Earring; Remarkable Creatures) writing continues to have that can't-put-it-down quality, and her change in settings from Europe to 19th-century frontier America is a welcome one. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 7/9/12.]--Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.