The Murrasons’ Barn

Escaping Slavery in Bleeding Kansas

By Henrietta DuCap

In 1858, with the nation on the brink of civil war, the violence in “Bleeding Kansas” festers like a raw wound, a territory torn in two over the issue of slavery.

When her family discovers an injured woman hiding in their barn, eleven-year-old Joyce Murrason must keep the secret from her best friend. Turns out Eliza Enstrom’s father is already hunting the woman escaping slavery, with the Circle S brand on her shoulder, and a $100 reward for Mama Tina’s capture.

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Publication Date: 10/14/2025

Title: The Murrasons’ Barn

Author: Henrietta DuCap

Publisher: Hidden Shelf Publishing House
Distribution: IngramSpark, Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-955893-59-6

ISBN (Kindle Ebook): 978-1-955893-60-2

Paperback Price: $14.99

Ebook Price: $3.99

Page Count: 157

Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.5

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: DuCap, Henrietta, author.

Title: The Murrasons’ barn : escaping slavery in burning Kansas / Henrietta DuCap.

Description: McCall, ID: Hidden Shelf Publishing House, 2025. | Summary: In 1858 Kansas, Joyce Murrason’s family hides an injured runaway slave in their barn, testing loyalties as political tensions, dangerous neighbors, and the fight over slavery threaten to divide them.

Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-955893-59-6 (paperback) | 978-1-955893-60-2 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH Slavery–Juvenile fiction. | African Americans–Juvenile fiction. | Fugitive slaves–Juvenile fiction. | Family–Juvenile fiction. | Friendship–Juvenile fiction. | Frontier and pioneer life–Juvenile fiction. | Kansas–History–1854-1861–Juvenile fiction. | Kansas territory–Juvenile fiction. | BISAC JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877) | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Prejudice & Racism | JUVENILE FICTION / Lifestyles / Country Life Classification: LCC PZ7.1 .D83 Mu 2025 | DDC [Fic]–dc23

Meet The Author

Henrietta DuCap

Henrietta DuCap has been writing fiction and poetry since she was very young, and has had shorter works published in a variety of literary journals. The Murrasons’ Barn started as an idea formed in childhood and grew into a novella while she was earning her BA in Creative Writing.

Henrietta enjoys camping, hiking, and visiting historical sites with her family.

Hidden Shelf Publishing House - P.O. Box 4168 - McCall, ID 83638

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