… offers a tiny glimpse into Harriet’s life and the sacrifices she made … intriguing … The novel includes a fictional relationship between Harriet and Samuel, an escaped slave who plays an instrumental role in the raid. The relationship humanizes her; rather than a sexless heroine, Harriet is a woman who wants to be loved and harbors the same desires as anybody else … While Cobbs largely focuses on Harriet the woman, she doesn’t neglect the cruelties Harriet suffered and witnessed as a slave … both poignant and inspiring. Through her compelling narrative, author Elizabeth Cobbs offers a nuanced, mostly factual portrayal of a real-life woman who has rightfully achieved mythical status. Because, for all the ways in which Harriet was an ordinary human being, she was even more so an extraordinary one.
