Historical fiction book · Curated
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead · historical fiction
An enslaved woman’s escape reimagines the Underground Railroad as a literal train—and faces America’s brutal history.
Why read it: Inventive, unflinching Pulitzer winner—history and allegory.
About this historical novel
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is historical fiction set around mid-19th century in the Civil War / Victorian / Gilded Age period with key settings including American South, United States. An enslaved woman’s escape reimagines the Underground Railroad as a literal train—and faces America’s brutal history.
On HisFic we tag it under 1. Literary historical fiction and 6. Adventure & epic so you can pair it with similar story types. Recurring themes include slavery, freedom, violence, and hope. Inventive, unflinching Pulitzer winner—history and allegory.
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Plot summary
An enslaved woman’s escape reimagines the Underground Railroad as a literal train—and faces America’s brutal history. Inventive, unflinching Pulitzer winner—history and allegory.
Subgenres
Eras
Browse this mix
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- North and South · John Jakes
Two families—one Northern, one Southern—are torn by the approach of the Civil War.
- Cold Mountain · Charles Frazier
Wounded Confederate soldier Inman walks home across North Carolina toward Ada, who is learning to keep a mountain farm alive as the Civil War wrecks the Blue Ridge. Frazier’s National Book Award winner is Civil War historical fiction of desertion, survival, and a love story paced to the land.
- Shaman · Noah Gordon
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- Homegoing · Yaa Gyasi
Linked stories follow two half-sisters’ lineages across centuries of African and American history.
Regions & places
North America
American South · United States
Themes
- slavery
- freedom
- violence
- hope
Tags
literary · award-winner