Reviews for The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4)

The average rating for The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #4) based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-12-02 00:00:00 Brenda Strawser 4.5 ★s The ageing Sylvia Bergstrom Compson is prompted by a stranger's request to look into items that have been stored in the attics at historic Elm Creek Manor for decades. She finds three very old quilts, stitched by unnamed ancestors, and a book of memoirs, written by her great grandfather's sister Gerda. It sets out the story of how the Bergstroms arrived at Elm Creek Farm and established themselves. It also reveals, gradually, their participation in the Underground Railway, i.e. an underground network that helped to smuggle runaway black slaves from Southern states through to freedom in Canada. Hans and Gerda were committed Abolitionists, but Hans's wife Anneke had less conviction. They harboured many fleeing blacks, including the brave but needy Joanna, escapee from a brutal Virginia plantation owner. In time their activities aroused the suspicions of local pro-Slavery advocates. It resulted in their arrests for breaking the laws relating to runaway slaves, and caused great disruption in the family's harmony. The story shows various aspects of pioneering life in the backwoods of rural USA in the 1850s, in particular the social organisations that were set up to counter social isolation. Women's quilting circles were very popular, including the one that Gerda and Anneke attended in the town of Creek's Crossing, later known as Waterford. The mysteries which Sylvia and her colleagues attempt to solve are (a) whether the old quilts did indeed carry coded messages for the runaways to follow in their journeys to freedom, and (b) who made the fragile, old quilts found in the attic, as this discovery might lead Sylvia to a new understanding of the Bergstrom family tree. There is an exquisite dilemma at the core of this book. How important is it to uphold a principle, however virtuous, if it endangers your family, including vulnerable babies? In the novel Gerda is portrayed as the highly principled, uncompromising member of the family, deeply committed to doing good, even at her own personal expense. Her sister-in-law, Anneke, is softer, more tractable, less judgemental. She has recently given birth, she's living in a fairly remote part of rural Pennsylvania during a period of social upheaval, with the burning issue of the abolition of slavery smouldering away and impacting on everyone's lives. As the narrator of the memoir, Gerda judges Anneke unkindly but I'm inclined to sympathise with the latter. I suspect the vast majority of mothers, both now and in the 1850s, might feel similarly, in their maternal need to protect their children. The other interesting question that remains unanswered at the end of the book is whether every child has the right to know his/her own heritage. Certainly in today's society this issue is a given, but that may not have been the case in 1859. How the Bergstroms handle this delicate topic is interesting... This book is a lively account of an interesting period of history, beautifully written in Jennifer Chiaverini's characteristic elegant prose. I greatly enjoyed the story, in particular the illumination of what might be called secret women's business in the coded messages issued to assist fugitive slaves. Of all the Elm Creek Quilt novels I've read so far, this one stands out for the moral questions it poses, which occupied my mind for many days after finishing the book. The Runaway Quilt would be a great Book Club title. The book is also very appealing to anyone with a genuine interesting in patchwork quilting and similar handcrafts. It is possible to read the Elm Creek Quilt novels as stand-alone books. However, it is definitely helpful to read them in order, at least the first two, Round Robin and The Quilter's Apprentice. Previously, I'd read the books at random, and am enjoying going back to the start and reading them in sequence. I love this series.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-05-03 00:00:00 Thomas Billinge I listened to this book on CD. I've become hooked on the Elm Creek Quilts series (and apparently there are a LOT of them!), but I think they just keep getting better. There are the original "Elm Creek quilters" characters from the first book, in which Sarah meets Sylvia Compson and they end up starting a quilt camp business, where quilters from all walks of life come to Elm Creek and participate in classes and activities centered around quilting. In each book, the focus is on some of the "campers" and their lives and problems, while at the same time the original characters' lives are followed in a continuing story. For this reason, it's probably best to read them in order (#5 wasn't available at my library, so I took what they had, which is #15, and I'm wishing I hadn't because I'm lost) Anyway, this volume focuses on the legend in Sylvia's family that there was a quilt that was used as a signal in the underground railroad, and the book centers around the lives of Sylvia's ancestors and what *really* happened. It fills in a few gaps and moves the characters forward in time as Sylvia comes to terms with her relationship with an old beau. And some new relationships are formed with one of the characters meeting a prospective love interest that will carry on to the next book. It's kind of like a soap opera, except without all the bad stuff. I really like this series.