A Most Perilous World: The True Story of the Young Abolitionists and Their Crusade Against Slavery
Kristina R. Gaddy
Jun 2025 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Kristina R. Gaddy, Shayna Small, Rachel Jacobs, James Fouhey, and Nile Bullock
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7 hr 40 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
The stories of the four teenage children of prominent abolitionists before and during the Civil War combine to form a surprisingly familiar tapestry of struggle, disappointment, and ultimately hope.
"Impeccable research and incredible details bring the stories of these four young people to life as they come of age in the years leading up to and during the Civil War."—Kip Wilson, award-winning author of White Rose
Flowers in the Gutter author Kristina R. Gaddy tells the story of America’s tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War and of the war itself from the viewpoints of four children of famous abolitionists, including those of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Gaddy crafts a surprisingly contemporary coming-of-age narrative, supported by meticulous research and featuring dozens of primary documents. Each of these four young people—two white, two Black—was strongly committed to the anti-slavery cause but felt just as keenly a need to make their own names, away from the often over-protective or disapproving shadows of the famous adults in their lives. This is a true story of how a torch of resistance is passed and how a new generation makes its mark.
"Impeccable research and incredible details bring the stories of these four young people to life as they come of age in the years leading up to and during the Civil War."—Kip Wilson, award-winning author of White Rose
Flowers in the Gutter author Kristina R. Gaddy tells the story of America’s tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War and of the war itself from the viewpoints of four children of famous abolitionists, including those of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Gaddy crafts a surprisingly contemporary coming-of-age narrative, supported by meticulous research and featuring dozens of primary documents. Each of these four young people—two white, two Black—was strongly committed to the anti-slavery cause but felt just as keenly a need to make their own names, away from the often over-protective or disapproving shadows of the famous adults in their lives. This is a true story of how a torch of resistance is passed and how a new generation makes its mark.
About the author
K. R. Gaddy is a freelance writer and historian. Her previous work includes Flowers in the Gutter, which Kirkus praised as "an eye-opening account of tenacity that brings the efforts of young anti-Nazi activists vividly to life" in a starred review, and Well of Souls, which the Economist called "beguiling…Gaddy successfully blends archival skills with imagination." She received a Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Rubys Artist Grant for her writing and research. She lives in Baltimore.
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