My Captivity: A Pioneer Woman's Story of Her Life Among the Sioux

My Captivity: A Pioneer Woman's Story of Her Life Among the Sioux
ISBN-10
162873843X
ISBN-13
9781628738438
Category
Biography & Autobiography
Pages
307
Language
English
Published
2014-01-02
Publisher
Simon and Schuster
Author
Fanny Kelly

Description

A pioneer woman recounts her capture by the Sioux at nineteen years old and what life was like in captivity as her husband worked to rescue her. What was life like for an American woman to be captured by people thought of as “uncivilized” or “barbaric” enemies? Captivity narratives were popular in both Europe and America from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries to the extent that many were sensationalized for entertainment purposes. Fanny Kelly’s memoir, first published in 1872, is one of the best of these: an exciting yet intelligent story full of adventure. Fanny was nineteen when her wagon party of emigrants was attacked by a large force of Sioux warriors. Most of the travelers were killed, but Fanny’s husband escaped and spent the next five months attempting to rescue her. A remarkable testament to extraordinary feminine endurance, this narrative is a valuable part of literature not only for its historical importance but also for its depiction of the conflicting images of Native Americans in the nineteenth century: savage aggressors or victims of prejudice and oppression.

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