A Different Kind of Christmas
The awakening of a white Southerner to the evil of slavery is the subject of a novella, "for readers of all ages," by the author of Roots. Fletcher Randall, a college student at Princeton in 1855, has lately arrived from the North Carolina plantation where his family's many slaves were treated well, but "knew their place." Through friendship with the Ellis brothers, fellow-students and Quakers committed to the anti-slavery cause, Fletcher's new perception of humanity wrenchingly alters his relationship with his uncomprehending family. Once he enlists in the Underground Railroad by partnering Harpin' John, a plantation slave, in a daring Christmas Eve escape, Fletcher's future is irrevocably cast with his Northern, Quaker friends. Leaning towards the didactic, Haley's Christmas story is nevertheless a moving tale, a special rendering of the seasonal spirit. First serial to Good Housekeeping; Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild alternates.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.