Mary was born to parents who were both slaves. Smart and curious, Mary was taught many things from her mother, including how to read and do mathematics. Once she begins to work at the house with her mother, the owners realize that she is quite intelligent and has an incredible gift of a photographic memory.
The daughter of the Van Lews, Bet, is a unmarried spinster who is both feminist and supports the abolitionist movement. When her father dies, she manages to gain control of the slaves in the family and has them freed. The problem is that freed slaves need to leave Virginia, and while she can free Mary and her mother, she cannot free or purchase the freedom of Mary’s father. Bet arranges for Mary to be freed and personally delivers Mary to a school in Philadelphia, pays for her room and board and tuition and supports her financially for a number of years as she is educated. Mary's mother opts to stay as a servant in order to be near her husband, but supports her daughter and encourages her to do the will of God, whatever that may be.
Against this backdrop, the United States is headed to civil war over slavery. Mary ends up returning to Virginia as a part of her work with the underground railroad, and agrees to act as an uneducated slave in the Gray House- the home of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Her sharp memory and intelligence and education allow Mary to spy on the confederate leadership without them guessing that the slave they hired is passing along information critical to the Union forces. She and Bet work throughout the war to help pass information, bring aid to Union prisoners, and support underground railroad activities, despite the desperation of living on the edge of bloody battles. It’s a powerful tale, and paints an in-depth picture of life, the challenges, and struggles of war, slavery, poverty, wealth and the will of many to make hard choices to do what is right. Our group loved it and enjoyed rich discussions about the things we learned from this incredible story.
