information from Southwest Seattle Historical Society

Next up in the “Words, Writers & West Seattle” series is West Seattle author Judy Bentley, who will speak about her book, Free Boy: A True Story of Slave and Master (University of Washington Press, 2013).

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society sponsors this free series.

The installment featuring Bentley runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 4, 2014, at Barnes & Noble Westwood Village. From each purchase, the historical society receives 10 percent of proceeds under the Barnes & Noble Bookfair program.

Bentley, who teaches at South Seattle Community College and is former board member of the historical society, coauthored Free Boy with Lorraine McConaghy, a public historian at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle.

The book tells the story of 13-year-old slave Charles Mitchell, who escaped from Washington Territory to freedom in Canada on the West Coast’s tiny underground railroad in 1860. Mitchell was the property of James Tilton, Surveyor General of Washington Territory, and this book is a twined biography of the two, exploring issues of race, slavery,treason, and secession in Washington Territory.

Reviews for Free Boy have been stellar:

“The authors’ admirable primary-source detective work results in a context-rich story,” says Publishers Weekly.

“An intriguing piece of scholarship,” says Kirkus.

“Written with deft, lucid prose, this book is a reminder of why lightly fictionalized biography is a marvelous genre. . . . Free Boy provides richly detailed settings and imagined conversations (based on documented events) that bring the story to life,” says readergirlz.

Other West Seattle authors will be featured in this free 'First Friday book talk series in coming months at Barnes & Noble in Westwood Village. Additional information on future presentations can be obtained by calling Dora-Faye Hendricks, "Words, Writers & West Seattle" chair, 206-280-9983 or by e-mail at Dora-Faye@comcast.net.