Not Without Peril

by Marguerite Allis

Book by Allis, Marquerite

Genres: History

414 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Coralie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've ever read. Jemima Sartwell was born in Groton, Massachusetts. Her father moved his family to the wilderness when Northfield was at the edge of the frontier and built a fort in what is now Vernon, called Fort Sartwell. Jemima moved up and down the Connecticut River as first her first husband, then her second husband were killed by Indians. Jemima and her children were captured by Indians and taken to Canada, where they lived as basically prisoners of war. After the French and Indian War ended, Jemima was returned to New Hampshire, and she was reunited with all but two of her children. This was an amazing book about an amazing woman. Highly recommended. You can order it online from Fort Number Four in Charlestown, NH.

[John Vibber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This remarkable novel is based on an even more remarkable true story of a frontier woman in what came to be called Vermont. It is an epic adventure with lessons in history and lessons in life. Anyone with deep Yankee roots will know themselves better after reading this book.

Also-
If you were brought up reading Kenneth Roberts,
or if you liked Philbrook's Mayflower and Randal's Ethan Allen,
or if you appreciated other recent books on New England history ,
you are likely to prize this book.

It now sits on my shelf of favorite books.

[Christie Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history and I love people who can bring it to live with well-researched content. I picked this book up on a visit to the Fort and No. 4 in New Hampshire when my family went to visit it last year. While its taken me a year to get through it, it was anything but boring.

Marguerite Allis was able to write in such a way that I could see how Vermont/New Hampshire looked in the 1600's/1700's while bringing in actual, historical events from Jemima Sartwell's life. Other, important historical figures feature in the story such as Count Frontenac in Quebec, Ethan Allen, and others.

This book is not for young teens I would say as Jemima's first marriage is one arranged by her father to a very rough and violent man. There are also some pretty tragic descriptions of things that happened during her capture by the Native Americans and an unsafe situation she finds herself.

What this book does brilliantly is shows both how strong and yet vulnerable women were in 1600's America. Jemima is a force of nature despite the hard life she encounters and one can't help but admire the women who endured that life here.

Its definitely also helped me in understanding and absorbing more of the history of where I leave and what personal experience must have looked like. If you are able to read books that hard but good - this one is for you.

[David Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that has a lot going for it, and becomes an engrossing read. To get the shortcomings out of the way, it doesn't quite live up to a five-star read, even though the author clearly put in five-star levels of effort. The author's style is part of this, as it's written with a fly-on-the-wall vision of the main characters thoughts, but I don't think the main character even once used the word 'I' when it came to her thoughts. It did create a distance for me from the character, at first. There are also some modern sentiments regarding the environment, women's positions, and Indians that stand-out a little and don't seem entirely believable for a woman of the mid 1700s. With the Indians especially it stands out, as in one sentence the author portrays the dislike of a woman who watched loved ones die and suffered captivity at the hands of the Abenaki, but a few paragraphs later seems almost sympathetic to their plight.

These drawbacks are easily outweighed by the books qualities. Thought it takes a while to warm up to the main characters, after the first quarter of the book she really develops into an enthralling figure, made more so by the fact that the main character, Jemima Sartwell, was a real person who actually suffered through these evens. How correct the details are is unknown, since it is historical fiction, but it's at times hard to imagine how a woman could survive all this person was put through. The historical details are also well done, the research is evident. This is especially true of the history of southeastern Vermont, along the Connecticut river, where most of the book takes place. Readers from New England would probably find a lot there to interest them. All told, it's a well done recreation of New England in the mid 1700s, and a superb effort at preserving a piece of local history.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It took a little bit to get used to the vernacular, but the author did a great job capturing the language. I reread it immediately and picked up so much more the second time through. The story is based on real events suffered by the settlers of the Connecticut River Valley during the time of the French and Indian War, and later through the Revolution. I not only related to the characters but also learned a tremendous amount about the politics and life in the mid to late 1700s. So much that I did some additional reading about that time. I may be biased because the heroine, Jemima Sartwell, is my 6th great grandmother through her son Squire Howe (also prominent in the book). I had already known the story of their "captivation" but not in the detail written. I have since done quite a bit of further research and have found the author related the events quite accurately, taking some license of course with personalities and fleshing out details, plus other minor changes for dramatic effect (as if it wasn't dramatic enough!).
This is a book I will be passing down to my grandchildren, with our family tree tucked inside.

[Mhill7857 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just found this book on Goodreads - read it many years ago. It's a true story about a local woman, Jemima Tute, who was captured by the Indians during the French & Indian War. Very old, but an interesting read, especially if you are from this area, and like US history as much as I do. Jemima Tute is buried in Vernon VT.

[lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical novel based on the life of Jemima Sartwell. Quite a learning experience about the living conditions, political divides, impact of the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and, most importantly, the evolution of that section of land called The Grants and its eventual christening as Vermont. Really enjoyed this one.

[Penny Muzzey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of my favorite books - she lived very close to where i grew up, so everything was so much more realistic for me....i can actually imagine the great meadows as a forest - just as she saw them....her gravestone is still in amazing repair....what a strong woman she was!

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

History of the Colonial Connecticut River Valley. While the story was well written, time has let its mark on political correctness in terms of the language and references to the American Indians and how they were portrayed.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jemima's story, loosely based on fact, is very intrigueing. The book showcases "local" history and allows the reader a peek into a period when the area was being settled. Jemima's gravesite is in Vernon Vermont.

[Gretchen Tischler · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read!