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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of…
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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd (edition 1998)

by Jim Fergus

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3,9391923,082 (3.67)175
Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:

One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Author Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.

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Member:boblinfortino
Title:One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
Authors:Jim Fergus
Info:St. Martin's Griffin (1999), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 320 pages
Collections:paperback fiction
Rating:
Tags:read 3/10

Work Information

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

  1. 30
    These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner (bnbookgirl)
  2. 00
    Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel (bnbookgirl)
  3. 00
    The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth (Othemts)
  4. 00
    Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe (Othemts)
  5. 00
    The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss (mysterymax)
  6. 00
    Between Earth and Sky by Amanda Skenandore (thea-block)
    thea-block: Similar subjects, tone, and picture of relationships between whites and natives.
  7. 00
    Westering Women by Sandra Dallas (The.Book.Butler)
    The.Book.Butler: Strong, female characters; western; women traveling west in hopes of a better future or to leave behind the past; fully-realized, individual, female characters with depth and nuanced relationships
  8. 01
    Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown (Othemts)
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» See also 175 mentions

English (189)  French (3)  All languages (192)
Showing 1-5 of 189 (next | show all)
An entertaining immersion to this historic time, however, the language and writing does not fit the period. ( )
  rosenmemily | Jan 7, 2024 |
I really enjoyed this one and found myself thinking about the characters even when I was not reading the book. Entertaining and I enjoyed the premise and alternate universe that was presented. Reminds me of some OSC novels where an alternate America is the setting. ( )
  monicawatkinsclay | Dec 28, 2023 |
Every time I skimmed past this book I thought it would be interesting to read some day. Some day finally arrived and I was sorely disappointed. I had assumed it was based on actual diaries, if not that of the title. It was made clear in the author's note, however, that this was a complete fiction. As such, it is a man's attempt to mimic the stilted writing of a cultured woman in the late 1800's and his grasping at straws for subject matter that would be unique.
After reading the first third, I skimmed a little, jumped ahead to the last couple of chapters, and didn't think I would be missing much by discarding it. Another romance fantasy, stereotyping Native Americans, and making caricatures of a number of female stereotypes. I suppose there was a little bit of character development, but not worth more time invested. ( )
  juniperSun | Dec 24, 2023 |
3.5 stars

In 1875, the US Government made a deal with the Cheyenne to provide them with 1000 white women to marry (according to the author’s note, this was a real request, but it was never agreed to… except for purposes of this book). They would have the indigenous men’s children, then raise them in a white world, thereby being a bridge between the two cultures. The women would also help to assimilate/convert the indigenous peoples. The women were to be volunteers.

May Dodd (along with some others), had been living in an asylum. She had children with a man who wasn’t her husband; they lived together and were very happy. But this made her promiscuous, according to her family, and therefore insane so she should live the rest of her life in an asylum. This deal to be a wife to a Cheyenne man provided May a way out of the asylum. Other women also agreed to this, some from asylums, others who might have been incarcerated. Some maybe just wanted the adventure.

This was told mostly in diary form, with a few letters, as well. It started off pretty slow for me, but got better once the women were living with the Cheyenne. I quite liked many of the characters and the friendships that developed between them. I also think the book did a good job of showing the culture shock, and the women trying to fit in to this new culture.

The tension increased with a big event toward the end of the book, and I did like the way it ended with a couple of external voices to the main part of the story. I wasn’t sure at first, but I ended up liking it enough to read the sequel. I almost increased my rating just slightly, but decided to keep it at “good”, as that’s where it sat for the bulk of the book. ( )
  LibraryCin | Aug 20, 2023 |
I tend not to rest my estimation of the quality of a book on unsavory elements included, understanding that violence is sometimes necessary for realism, plot, theme or character development. However, in this case, Fergus abandoned realism and character integrity early on, stretching his historic setting with unrealistic and misplaced values (which I hesitate to call feminism, for reasons that I'll get to.) Therefore, there is little excuse for the repeated sexual assault scenes, especially given that Fergus seemed to expect the reader to casually forgive the assailants as easily as his protagonists did. (So easily that the narrator, who was expected to be a reliable, sympathetic narrator, refers to the rape of another character as "nonconsensual" in scare quotes.)

Similarly, there is little excuse for Fergus' rampant use of the N-word. It's supposed to be a historic piece? Thanks, I got that without the casual slurs. I don't agree with censoring (or self-censoring) literature, but if you're going to be throwing around loaded words/scenarios, do it for a reason.

Fantastic idea. Execution lacking. ( )
1 vote settingshadow | Aug 19, 2023 |
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Epigraph
Women will love her, that she is a woman

More worth than any man; men that she is
The rarest of all women.

- William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, V.1
Dedication
To Dillon
First words
23 March 1875: Today is my birthday, and I have received the greatest gift of all - freedom!
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:

One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Author Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.

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