T's Stuff: The Underground River by Martha Conway

The Underground River by Martha Conway

Publication Date: June 20, 2017

Touchstone

Hardcover, eBook, AudioBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice

Set aboard a nineteenth century riverboat theater, this is the moving, page-turning story of a charmingly frank and naive seamstress who is blackmailed into saving runaways on the Underground Railroad, jeopardizing her freedom, her livelihood, and a new love.

It’s 1838, and May Bedloe works as a seamstress for her cousin, the famous actress Comfort Vertue—until their steamboat sinks on the Ohio River. Though they both survive, both must find new employment. Comfort is hired to give lectures by noted abolitionist, Flora Howard, and May finds work on a small flatboat, Hugo and Helena’s Floating Theatre, as it cruises the border between the northern states and the southern slave-holding states.

May becomes indispensable to Hugo and his troupe, and all goes well until she sees her cousin again. Comfort and Mrs. Howard are also traveling down the Ohio River, speaking out against slavery at the many riverside towns. May owes Mrs. Howard a debt she cannot repay, and Mrs. Howard uses the opportunity to enlist May in her network of shadowy characters who ferry babies given up by their slave mothers across the river to freedom. Lying has never come easy to May, but now she is compelled to break the law, deceive all her new-found friends, and deflect the rising suspicions of Dr. Early who captures runaways and sells them back to their southern masters.

As May’s secrets become more tangled and harder to keep, the Floating Theatre readies for its biggest performance yet. May’s predicament could mean doom for all her friends on board, including her beloved Hugo, unless she can figure out a way to trap those who know her best.

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Praise for The Underground River

“Creating a perfectly straight seam finds echoes throughout the book in plot devices and metaphors, even in saving souls, and it may come as a surprise how lively and sustaining this lost art can be. Twain has his ‘Life on the Mississippi.’ Conway’s life on the Ohio makes you see the place, through May’s eyes, in all its muddy glory.” (The New York Times Book Review)

"The Underground River is both a dear love story and a page-turning adventure about the Underground Railroad—and an unwilling participant. An extraordinary cast of memorable characters gives this book irresistible appeal while the setting on the watery boundary between North and South places them in dangerous and morally ambiguous territory. A captivating, thoughtful, and unforgettable read." (Kathleen Grissom, author of The Kitchen House and Glory over Everything)

“It is part of Martha Conway’s gift as a writer to weave stories from the richest and most interesting periods of American history. Set on a nineteenth century floating theatre on the Ohio River, The Underground River is a riveting and atmospheric novel about slavery, betrayal and redemption, with a memorably forthright heroine, and a plot as fast flowing and twisty as the river itself.” (Louisa Treger, author of The Lodger)

"Warning: The Underground River is a page-turner. Be prepared to stay up late reading, because once you start you won’t want to put it down. From the first page to the last, Martha Conway’s novel is riveting, immersing the reader in the adventures of an unlikely heroine who finds courage, independence and love amid the social turmoil of the Underground Railroad. Vividly drawn settings, original characters, and perilous situations make this mesmerizing book one you will remember for years to come." (Amy Belding Brown, author of Flight of the Sparrow)

“Martha Conway's The Underground River is simply wonderful, a novel in which the women—good and bad—matter. The tale is told by young May Bedloe, who grows up and falls in love as the modest little show-boat drifts down the river between the small towns of the slave-holding South and the free North. May is pitched into the middle of the Slave vs Free drama not through conviction--though she does indeed know what's right--but by blackmail, until eventually she musters the courage to risk everything for another woman. I loved May, and I very much hope we have not seen the last of her.” (Beverly Swerling, author of City of Dreams)

"Well-researched and gripping to the end, The Underground River is a vivid look at a pivotal chapter in American history." (The Mercury News)

"The Underground River evokes Twain in both story and setting. A compelling book that would no doubt please the Master of the Mississippi....A compelling story of a young woman who is trying to find her way in a world that, in a few years, will be ripped apart by war. A tale worthy of Twain." (The Free Lance-Star)

“May herself is a marvelous creation, more than a little reminiscent of Mattie Ross in Charles Portis’ True Grit....You’ll root for her till the last page. Add a gentle love story and an especially sinister villain (who enters stage left, rather late) and The Underground River has the makings of a cult classic.” (Wilmington Star-News)

"Thanks to the success of Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, the subject of the abolition movement is popular in fiction now. Conway (Thieving Forest; Sugarland) offers a novel take on the topic, and book groups will especially enjoy the distinctive setting, the rich historical details, and the thorny issues begging to be discussed." (Library Journal)

"Readers will profit from narrator May’s attention to detail and will appreciate the richly drawn showboat and the North-South border setting.” (Booklist)

About the Author

Martha Conway grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, the sixth of seven daughters. Her first novel was nominated for an Edgar Award, and she has won several awards for her historical fiction, including an Independent Book Publishers Award and the North American Book Award for Historical Fiction. Her short fiction has been published in the Iowa Review, Massachusetts Review, Carolina Quarterly, Folio, Epoch, The Quarterly, and other journals. She has received a California Arts Council Fellowship for Creative Writing, and has reviewed books for the Iowa Review and the San Francisco Chronicle. She now lives in San Francisco, and is an instructor of creative writing for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and UC Berkeley Extension. She is the author of The Underground River.

For more information, please visit Martha Conway's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Interview with Martha Conway

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

I find that the story definitely changes as I write it, and my plot as I envision it before I start is never exactly how it ends up. Partly this is because, like any writer, the way I write a scene can spawn new ideas. For example, I might emphasize something I hadn’t thought much about before, and that leads me to think of the story or the character in a slightly different way. I wouldn’t call this hijacking so much as letting the necessary improvisation when writing a story (feeling your way in the dark) bring the story to new places.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

There have been a lot of books about the injustice of slavery, including important novels about slave stories. Beloved and Diary of a Slave Girl come to mind. Novels like these serve not only as narrative entertainment, but also as a social conscience—they remind us we must fight against injustice. But how do we fight for our causes? How do we convince others to fight for our side? The Underground Railroad is an adventure and a love story, but it is also one woman’s journey from political bystander to active participant. I wanted to show how a character is moved to action against an injustice, not just the injustice itself.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

No.

Pen or type writer or computer?

Computer.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

If, at the end of reading The Underground River, you are curious about what happens to May, email me and I will send you the secret last chapter (the epilogue) that was not published, available to my newsletter subscribers. (marthamconway [AT symbol] hotmail [DOT] com) I also have the first chapter available to all my new subscribers: https://page.co/vQdM.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, June 18
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, June 20
Excerpt at Teaser Addicts Book Blog

Thursday, June 21
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Friday, June 22
Feature at Donna's Book Blog

Saturday, June 23
Interview at T's Stuff

Tuesday, June 26
Review at Creating Herstory

Wednesday, June 27
Review at Reviewing Nerds

Saturday, June 30
Review at Clarissa Reads it All

Monday, July 2
Review at What Cathy Read Next

Wednesday, July 4
Review at Library of Clean Reads

Friday, July 6
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views

Saturday, July 7
Review at Lady J's Bookish Nook

Monday, July 9
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Wednesday, July 11
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Excerpt at Jathan & Heather

Friday, July 13
Guest Post at Passages to the Past

Monday, July 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Tuesday, July 17
Feature at CelticLady's Reviews

Friday, July 20
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Monday, July 23
Review at Donna McCabe

Wednesday, July 25
Review at Writing the Renaissance

Thursday, July 26
Guest Post at Writing the Renaissance

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