The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club) characters

Appears from the start

An enslaved young woman on the Randall plantation in Georgia. Isolated after her mother escaped, she protects a small inheritance of land and vegetables and has learned to expect danger from owners and fellow captives alike. Caesar's proposal of flight forces her to decide whether survival can include hope.

Appears from the start

Cora's grandmother, kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in the American South. The few possessions and the small garden plot passed down through her family give Cora a fragile claim to continuity.

Appears from the start

Cora's mother, remembered as the only enslaved person known to have escaped successfully from Randall. Her departure left Cora feeling abandoned and made her a lasting obsession for the slave catcher Ridgeway.

First appears in chapter 2

An enslaved man on Randall who can read and who asks Cora to escape with him. He has learned of a clandestine railroad and believes that careful preparation can carry them to a life beyond Georgia.

First appears in chapter 2

A young woman from Randall who joins Cora and Caesar after their escape is already under way. Her unexpected presence makes their flight harder to conceal.

First appears in chapter 3

A determined slave catcher who treats pursuit as both a profession and a defense of the nation's racial order. His failure to capture Mabel has become personal, and he takes charge of the search for Cora and Caesar.

First appears in chapter 6

A white station agent in North Carolina who reluctantly hides Cora in the cramped space above his house. His father served the underground railroad, but the state's lethal laws have made Martin fearful and resentful of the duty he inherited.

First appears in chapter 6

Martin's wife, a religious woman whose initial hostility toward the fugitive hidden in her home gradually gives way to personal attention and uneasy sympathy.

First appears in chapter 7

A small Black boy who travels with Ridgeway, wears an oversized hat, and records the slave catcher's business. His devotion to Ridgeway makes him an unsettling participant in Cora's captivity.

First appears in chapter 8

A freeborn Black man and underground railroad agent who helps take Cora from Ridgeway's party. He brings her to the Valentine farm in Indiana and hopes to build a future with her.

First appears in chapter 10

A respected speaker and thinker living at Valentine farm. He argues that Black people must be free to create a broad community rather than trim their aspirations to satisfy white society.

First appears in chapter 10

An educated resident of Valentine farm who favors cautious advancement and worries that harboring fugitives puts the entire settlement at risk. His position becomes one side of the community's debate over its future.