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7th out of 75 books
—
8 voters
The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts #4)
In the fourth novel of the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, Sylvia Compson searches for evidence of her ancestors' courageous involvement in the Underground Railroad.
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
March 25th 2003
by Plume
(first published 2002)
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Jul 07, 2008
Ariana
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in the Civil War, slavery, mystery, and family history
Shelves:
historical-fiction
I love historical novels, and I really enjoyed this one. I am planning to read the other books in the series. Sylvia, the owner of a home that predates the Civil War, discovers an old family journal in her attic. As she reads her ancestor's account, she learns that her family history is not quite what she thought it was. The journal's author explains that she feels the need to record her family's history, despite the possibility of the truth hurting her family. The protagonist learns of her fami...more
Jan 09, 2010
Rayni
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
mystery,
fiction,
crafts,
series,
other-cultures,
2010-reads,
historical-fiction,
elm-creek
This is a book I could not get into. I returned it to the library & relegated it to my "May Never Read" shelf. But as with the first book of the series, The Quilter's Apprentice, I could not let it rest. I kept thinking about it & wanting to know more. Finally, I picked it up at the library. I kept it 3 weeks, again loath to pick it up & finish it.
I gave it 3 stars, because once I did get through it, I did like it. I can't say it was just "ok" because I kept thinking about it. I can'...more
I gave it 3 stars, because once I did get through it, I did like it. I can't say it was just "ok" because I kept thinking about it. I can'...more
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I particularly like historical fiction, and I really enjoyed this. It features very strong but still vulnerable enough to be relateable female characters, which is a major draw for me. The main character, Sylvia Bergstrom, finds the journal of one of her civil war ancestors, Gerda Bergstrom, and what she reads in it makes her question what she always believed about her family. A good portion of the book is set during the Civil War as if you're seeing the events Gerda wrote about in her journal t...more
Sylvia Bergstrom is the last of her family. An avid quilter, she has set up her family home, Elm Creek Manor in Pennsylvania, as a mecca for quilters, with her staff hosting a series of summer quilting camps. Sylvia has always taken pride in the family stories of their farm being a station on the Underground Railroad, and after a quilt from the deep south turns up with the name "The Elm Creek Quilt," she is motivated to search through her overstuffed attic for the Civil War era quilts her aunt t...more
This is by far the best of the series! Each story in the Quilt series is better than the one before. This is a completely satisfying story: part mystery, part history lesson, and part geneology study.
After a speaking engagement, Sylvia is approached by one of the attendees. Margaret Alden has an old family quilt that has always been called The Elm Creek quilt, and she wants to share her information with Sylvia. This sparks Sylvia's curiosity, and she sets out to find the old quilts her Aunt Luci...more
After a speaking engagement, Sylvia is approached by one of the attendees. Margaret Alden has an old family quilt that has always been called The Elm Creek quilt, and she wants to share her information with Sylvia. This sparks Sylvia's curiosity, and she sets out to find the old quilts her Aunt Luci...more
The 4th book in this wonderful series, the Runaway Quilt could be read as a stand-alone or as part of the series. Due to this fact, I am not going to summarize the first three books as I don't think it would help any.
Sylvia is the owner of Elm Creek Manor, a large place with grounds that plays host to a Quilter's retreat during the summer. Running the business are her good friends from the Elm Creek Quilter's circle. Since they run the business, she often spends her retirement traveling with her...more
Sylvia is the owner of Elm Creek Manor, a large place with grounds that plays host to a Quilter's retreat during the summer. Running the business are her good friends from the Elm Creek Quilter's circle. Since they run the business, she often spends her retirement traveling with her...more
I loved this series, and I can't remember all of the ones I read, but this must have been the first one in my reading spree (frenzy?) two summers ago. This one stands out in my mind because it talks about how slaves would communicate by creating quilts that were basically maps for the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. It fascinated me that something so seemingly simple as what most classify as a bed throw could be utterly and obviously subversive. I've made quilts, and it boggles my min...more
Next in the Elm Creek Quilt series, The Runaway Quilt Jennifer Chiaverini takes us back to before the Civil War to try and understand how a quilt with her family farm’s picture could have ended up on a quilt in South Carolina. It also encourages her to track down the veracity of some family stories passed down about their place in the Underground railroad.
I loved the idea of finding a memoir from that era and discovering the good and bad about your ancestors. Though I think that some parts of t...more
I loved the idea of finding a memoir from that era and discovering the good and bad about your ancestors. Though I think that some parts of t...more
I never imagined that I could get so caught up in a series of books that extols the virtue of quilting. The characters are so likable that I can't wait to find out what happens to them next.
In this book, Sylvia Compson desires to dig into her family history. After she delivers a lecture in the Southern United States, a woman approaches her with a very old quilt that has been in her family for generations. It's named "The Elm Creek Quilt." Another of its titles is "The Runaway Quilt." Alarmed tha...more
In this book, Sylvia Compson desires to dig into her family history. After she delivers a lecture in the Southern United States, a woman approaches her with a very old quilt that has been in her family for generations. It's named "The Elm Creek Quilt." Another of its titles is "The Runaway Quilt." Alarmed tha...more
This is my second time around with this book. I love the Elm Creek book series. I'm into quilting, and I enjoy genealogy and history. Slavery is one of the compelling subjects, that intrigues me. It's hard to imagine human beings thinking, that black people are less than human. I have meet some people, through genealogy, who have traced their ancestors back to slave owners. I have heard their stories, and how they have affected their lives. One woman had even made several trips to the South, to...more
All of Jennifer Chiaverini's stories are compelling but this one had an extra dose! Here we learn more about Sylvia's great aunt Gerda Beckstrom who joined her brother in America, in part fleeing the breakup of her engagement in Germany to her childhood friend; but Gerda is no wallflower--she is smart, strong and courageous. In this installment of the Beckstrom saga, we find out that the Beckstrom were strong abolitionists and ran an underground station for runaway slaves on their way to Canada....more
My sister gave me this to read and now I remember why I rarely read "pop fiction." There was no meat to the story, the plot and characters seemed contrived and formulaic. I already knew quite a bit about using quilts as a signal on the underground railroad, so that was nothing new either.
The story bounces back and forth between present day Sylvia, (an older woman who runs this quilt camp from her fancy old inherited home in PA) and her great-great grandmother's memoir (from emigrating to Americ...more
The story bounces back and forth between present day Sylvia, (an older woman who runs this quilt camp from her fancy old inherited home in PA) and her great-great grandmother's memoir (from emigrating to Americ...more
I have only just started this book, but it is grating on me already. The thought of using quilts as part of the trek to freedom for slaves n the 18th century is compelling, the backstory of the characters is interesting, but the present is dull. I am having trouble liking the main character, Silvia, who is self absorbed and prone to self pity. What has bugged me the most, however, is the fact that the attendees at her quilting camp must share of themselves as if this is group therapy rather than...more
Ah, the oft- and poorly-told story of the fleeing slaves, guided on their path by the coded messages in the quilts hanging on a line outside a station on the Underground Railroad. This is not an urban legend (it would have to be a rural legend, wouldn't it?) but we so want it to be true. It has a ring of truth to it, yes?
Chiaverini does a better than average job with this concept, although the amount of time Sylvia took to read her great-aunt's antebellum journals boggled the mind. JUST SIT DOW...more
Chiaverini does a better than average job with this concept, although the amount of time Sylvia took to read her great-aunt's antebellum journals boggled the mind. JUST SIT DOW...more
Audio book -- CD
Looks like it is going to be an interesting book.
This was very interesting to listen to. And Christina Moore had just the right voice and accent to be the narrator. It had quite a surprise ending.
Looks like it is going to be an interesting book.
This was very interesting to listen to. And Christina Moore had just the right voice and accent to be the narrator. It had quite a surprise ending.
1 like · like · see review
This book was an easy read (done in 2 days)with some twists and turns along the way. The story line is not deep and philosophical by any means but is enjoyable. Story is based in current times with the main character jumping back to the 1850's as she reads an ancestor's memoirs. Historical fiction dealing with runaway slaves/underground railway and quilting. As a quilter, I could really relate to the quilting aspect of the story line (but you don't have to be a quilter to enjoy this book!). I al...more
In an effort to learn more about an unusual quilt she is shown at a seminar, Sylvia, the owner of Elm Creek Manor, goes searching in her attic for an antique quilt she believes to be there. Finding three quilts instead of one, and a memoir written by one of her ancestors, Sylvia invites her friend Grace back to the Manor to look at the quilts, while she begins reading the memoir, which documents the founding of Bergstrom Thoroughbreds in America, and extends to the time period when Elm Creek Man...more
May 19, 2009
Brittany
added it
I read this book as a part of our ward book club. Although it is the third (or fourth?) book in a series, it isn't necessary to read the others first, although I will probably go back and read them. This book kept me interested because you're trying to discover the mystery of Sylvia's ancestor's quilt and her ancestors. It also makes you think about slavery and what you might have done had you lived in that time period. I also thought about how society views people who are different... In ways,...more
Very moving story based on a quilt made during the Civil War era. The quilt somehow survives and brings a story that goes with it. I enjoyed the flash of history in 1860s Pennsylvania, which though a Free State, was close enough to the South that they were constantly embroiled in the controversy and Elm Creek itself was divided Pro and Anti slavery. What makes these novels enjoyable is the information and love for quilting that weaves through the story line (pardon my pun) and as a seamstress an...more
I loved this book! Sylvia found her great aunt Gerda's private memoir in an old trunk in the attic. There were also a couple of quilts in the trunk. The memoir divulged so many details about the Underground Railroad. It also became apparent that Sylvia's grandfather, David, was either Anneke and Han's blood son, or he was the adopted son of Joanna and her master, Josiah Chester. The severe right wing faction found Joanna in hiding at Anneke and Hans' Bergstrom's house and tied her to a horse and...more
Alerted to the possibility that her family had ties to the
slaveholding South, Sylvia scours her attic and finds three quilts and a memoir written by Gerda, the spinster sister of clan patriarch Hans Bergstrom. The memoir describes the founding of Elm Creek Manor and how, using quilts as markers, Hans, his wife, Anneke, and Gerda came to beckon fugitive slaves to safety within its walls. Then you continue the story that aludes that the quilts were or were not really used. This is the fourth book...more
slaveholding South, Sylvia scours her attic and finds three quilts and a memoir written by Gerda, the spinster sister of clan patriarch Hans Bergstrom. The memoir describes the founding of Elm Creek Manor and how, using quilts as markers, Hans, his wife, Anneke, and Gerda came to beckon fugitive slaves to safety within its walls. Then you continue the story that aludes that the quilts were or were not really used. This is the fourth book...more
It seems I've heard that it is a bit of a myth that runaway slaves were guided along the Underground Railroad by signals hidden in quilts and hung on clothes lines. But the myth is alive and well in this story.
Sylvia Compson is shown an heirloom quilt that features a map of her very own Elm Creek Manor - now Elm Creek Quilt Camp. Intrigued, she searches her own attic and finds a long hidden journal which answers many questions about Sylvia's heritage.
I enjoy listening to the Elm Creek Quilt seri...more
Sylvia Compson is shown an heirloom quilt that features a map of her very own Elm Creek Manor - now Elm Creek Quilt Camp. Intrigued, she searches her own attic and finds a long hidden journal which answers many questions about Sylvia's heritage.
I enjoy listening to the Elm Creek Quilt seri...more
I listened to this book using the new playaways available at my library. It was a good one to listen to since you could be busy doing housework, knitting or sewing and still follow the story. I'm interested in quilting and this one explores the possibility that certain quilt patterns were used to guide runaway slaves to the Underground Railroad. It took place in present day but it took you back to just before the Civil War by reading a family journal of the time. It was not "literature" but a ve...more
The premise of the book is a woman discovers some quilts and a diary in her attic that date back to pre-civil war time. She already knew that her family had been part of the Underground Railroad, but the quilts and diary helped to fill in all the missing pieces. The book went back and forth between current time and the diary writer's time. The premise of the book was very interesting, but I couldn't get into it and thought it was too slow moving. I often found myself bored and annoyed with the m...more
In the fourth novel of the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, Sylvia Compson searches for evidence of her ancestors' courageous involvement in the Underground Railroad.
Number 4 in the series and the Elm Creek Quilters is up and running as a business. This book focuses on Sylvia, who finds a diary written just before the Civil War, along with several old and partially damaged quilts.
It is written by Gerda, who came over from Germany with her brother to found the house and business that Sylvia and h...more
Number 4 in the series and the Elm Creek Quilters is up and running as a business. This book focuses on Sylvia, who finds a diary written just before the Civil War, along with several old and partially damaged quilts.
It is written by Gerda, who came over from Germany with her brother to found the house and business that Sylvia and h...more
I don't really love the main character in the Elm Creek Quilt series, Sylvia, but I did really enjoy the parallel story told through Gerda's memoir. And I have to say that it is so refreshing to read a book that contains scenes that could have been portrayed in a vulgar way but that the author chose to censor a little. You still get the gist of what's happening without having to try to blot out objectionable language from your head for days afterward. Thank you for wholesome, clean literature, J...more
DAMN HER.
Judy brought me the first Elm Creek Quilters novel and I was kind of disgusted with it in the beginning, but the story turned gripping and I couldn't help myself. I wound up liking it.
This has been the story with every single freakin' Elm Creek Quilts book I've read consequently, and number four was no different. I approached it with a "Here we go again" attitude, and yet couldn't help myself from reading it.
In this novel, Sylvia Compson is approached at a lecture by a woman who has an...more
Judy brought me the first Elm Creek Quilters novel and I was kind of disgusted with it in the beginning, but the story turned gripping and I couldn't help myself. I wound up liking it.
This has been the story with every single freakin' Elm Creek Quilts book I've read consequently, and number four was no different. I approached it with a "Here we go again" attitude, and yet couldn't help myself from reading it.
In this novel, Sylvia Compson is approached at a lecture by a woman who has an...more
This book was hard for me to put down. I enjoyed reading this so much. This is the fourth book in the Elm Creek Quilts series, yes this is the first one I have read, and yes I am terrible for going out of sequence. Regardless this book was very good. It made me think and it was fun.
The main character, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, returns to the family homestead, Elk Creek Manor after her sister Claudia's death. The homestead was a grand old house located near a creek nestled in a small farming comm...more
The main character, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, returns to the family homestead, Elk Creek Manor after her sister Claudia's death. The homestead was a grand old house located near a creek nestled in a small farming comm...more
This book differs from the previous three in that it goes more into the backstory of the founding of the Bergstrom farm (later the quilt camp) and Sylvia's ancestors. The farm becomes a stop on the Underground Railroad, so has an interesting historical perspective too. I didn't know about how quilts were used as "signals" for runaway slaves -- like, this is a good place to hide for the night, etc. Being interested in geneaology, the Civil War, and quilting all together made this a fun read!
Chiaverini did a good job of creating this novel out of whole cloth. She took some old and mysterious quilts, and the concept of a diary and created a history for Sylvia of Elm Creek Mansion. Considering she had to make, in terms of storytelling, the entire cloth before she could construct the story, I think this was a real achievement.
However, having Sylvia the center was trying for me. Her personality, not entirely aided by the voice assigned her by Christina Moore, is sharp.
However, having Sylvia the center was trying for me. Her personality, not entirely aided by the voice assigned her by Christina Moore, is sharp.
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Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of ten Elm Creek Quilts novels and An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler and An Elm Creek Quilts Album, as well as Elm Creek Quilts and Return to Elm Creek, two collections of quilt projects inspired by the series, and is the designer of the Elm Creek Quilts fabric lines from Red Rooster fabrics. She lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin.
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