I was born in Virginia, in 1832, near Charlottesville, in the beautiful valley of the Rivanna river. My father was a white man and my mother a negress, the slave of one John Martin. I was a mere child, probably not more than six years of age, as I remember, when my mother, two brothers and myself were sold to Dr. Louis, a practicing physician in the village of Scottsville. We remained with him about five years, when he died, and, in the settlement of his estate, I was sold to one Washington Fitzpatrick, a merchant of the village. He kept me a short time when he took me to Richmond, by way of canal-boat, expecting to sell me; but as the market was dull, he brought me back and kept me some three months longer, when he told me he had hired me out to work on a canal-boat running to Richmond, and to go to my mother and get my clothes ready to start on the trip. I went to her as directed, and, when she had made ready my bundle, she bade me good-by with tears in her eyes, saying: "My son, be a good boy; be polite to every one, and always behave yourself properly."

Thomas L. Johnson's remarkable life, wherein he was born into slavery before going on to a successful career as a minister and missionary, is told here in his own words. Until the age of twenty-eight, Johnson lived under the yolk of his slave masters. As a servant he was subject to abuse for trivial matters, such as not knowing the difference between right and left. Sold on by his master whilst still a teenager, the author had already self-taught himself rudiments of literacy from letters and newspapers left around his master's house. Luckily, his new master's son was kind, and helped Johnson with vocabulary and letters. This knowledge helped Johnson keep aware of developments - the abolitionist movement, which sought freedom for all slaves, was of particular interest, as were the politics of Britain, which had already outlawed slavery. Significantly, Thomas also became interested in religion, learning many words, expressions and lessons from the Bible. After emancipation, this knowledge spurred him on to join the priesthood. He travelled to New York, and soon discovered his natural talent for speaking. A black preacher so soon after emancipation was an unusual sight; it wasn't long before Johnson had made friends and began to contemplate further travels to spread God's word. Sure enough, his talents saw him permanently resettle in England, and embark upon travels even farther afield.

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Thomas Johnson and Charles Spurgeon lived worlds apart. Johnson, an American slave, born into captivity and longing for freedom--- Spurgeon, an Englishman born into relative ease and comfort, but, longing too for a freedom of his own. Their respective journeys led to an unlikely meeting and an even more unlikely friendship, forged by fate and mutual love for the mission of Christ. Steal Away Home is a new kind of book based on historical research, which tells a previously untold story set in the 1800s of the relationship between an African-American missionary and one of the greatest preachers to ever live.

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