From Publishers Weekly
The awakening of a white Southerner to the evil of slavery is the subject of a novella, "for readers of all ages," by the author of Roots. Fletcher Randall, a college student at Princeton in 1855, has lately arrived from the North Carolina plantation where his family's many slaves were treated well, but "knew their place." Through friendship with the Ellis brothers, fellow-students and Quakers committed to the anti-slavery cause, Fletcher's new perception of humanity wrenchingly alters his relationship with his uncomprehending family. Once he enlists in the Underground Railroad by partnering Harpin' John, a plantation slave, in a daring Christmas Eve escape, Fletcher's future is irrevocably cast with his Northern, Quaker friends. Leaning towards the didactic, Haley's Christmas story is nevertheless a moving tale, a special rendering of the seasonal spirit. First serial to Good Housekeeping; Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild alternates. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
This is a very special novel that sparkles with the same memorable writing that made ROOTS an American classic.

This is the story of Fletcher Randall, a nineteen-year-old from North Carolina whose politically powerful father is a plantation owner, and, of course, a slave owner. The time is 1855, and all Fletcher Randall knows and believes about slavery he's learned from his father.

But Fletcher goes to school up North, and one or two of his Princeton classmates talk about how wrong slavery is until Fletcher begins to think for himself
--and he becomes a traitor to his background, to his family, by conspiring to aid in a mass escape of slaves on the Underground Railroad. His partner in this plan is a black slave by the name of Harpin' John, a man who plays the harmonica so sweetly it could make a grown man cry. Christmas Eve is the secret date set for the escape.

How these two men of such incredibly opposing backgrounds join together to achieve the goal of freedom makes
A Different Kind of Christmas soar with unforgettable inspiration. This is a timeless tale of spiritual regeneration, moral courage, and powerful humanness, meaningful and memorable to readers of all faiths and all ages.


From the Inside Flap
This is a very special novel that sparkles with the same memorable writing that made ROOTS an American classic.

This is the story of  Fletcher Randall, a nineteen-year-old from North Carolina whose politically powerful father is a plantation owner, and, of course, a slave owner. The time is 1855, and all Fletcher Randall knows and believes about slavery he's learned from his father.

But Fletcher goes to school up North, and one or two of his Princeton classmates talk about how wrong slavery is until Fletcher begins to think for himself
--and he becomes a traitor to his background, to his family, by conspiring to aid in a mass escape of slaves on the Underground Railroad. His partner in this plan is a black slave by the name of Harpin' John, a man who plays the harmonica so sweetly it could make a grown man cry. Christmas Eve is the secret date set for the escape.

How these two men of such incredibly opposing backgrounds join together to achieve the goal of freedom makes
A Different Kind of Christmas soar with unforgettable inspiration. This is a timeless tale of spiritual regeneration, moral courage, and powerful humanness, meaningful and memorable to readers of all faiths and all ages.


About the Author
ALEX HALEY was the author of ROOTS: The Saga of An American Family, now available as a Modern Classic from Gramercy Books. Haley became a journalist while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, and first gained national attention as the collaborator  of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He died  in 1992.

FROM THE PUBLISHER