Mary Rowlandson's account of her captivity among American Indians in New England in 1675 is both brutal and sympathetic. The Indians are portrayed as wild killers and slave owners, yet display moments of affection and kindness. One can see they are fighting for their lives, identity and way of life as they set out to kill the English in such numbers to drive them back into the sea. But it becomes clear the English are too many and despite victories in battle, there is an underlying desperation as the Indians stay on the run. Mary's memoir was among the first of the "captivity narrative" genre; and is an important historical document for her portraits of early American Indian life.

Listened to via LibriVox as read by Matthew Scott Surprenant. Clearly an amateur recording and difficult to follow at times as Matthew speeds too quickly through the words in places (pauses are good), but overall a strangely captivating reading style for the subject. ( )

A forgotten classic in American Literature. ( )

Quite Interesting ( )