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The Invasion
The Invasion, a novel originally published in 1932, marked the debut of historical novelist Janet Lewis, who went on to write numerous poems and short stories as well as the novels The Wife of Martin Guerre and The Trial of Soren Quist . Lewis grew up in the Lake country of the Old Northwest and The Invasion is based on family stories she heard as a child. The Invasion displays well-researched historical accuracy, an innate understanding of and feeling for Native American culture enhanced by the author's fluency in the Ojibway language, and an economy of style that is remarkable for a first novel.
In 1790, John Johnston, a cultivated young Irishman, came to the far corner of the Northwest Territory to make his fortune intending to spend only a year. Instead he married Ozhah-guscoday- wayquay (The Woman of the Glade), daughter of the Ojibway chief Waub- ojeeg, and settled on the St. Mary's River. Together they founded a family that was loved, respected, and famous throughout the region for honesty, fairness, and hospitality. Their home was the center of culture for the area and for every visiting traveler, Native American or white. The Invasion chronicles a time when one culture violently supplanted another even as it depicts a family that blends two cultures together.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft considered the Johnston family his most valued connection to the Native American population. He eventually married Jane Johnston, daughter of John and The Woman of the Glade, and remain close to her entire family. In his diary, Schoolcraft wrote of the Johnstons, "I have in fact stumbled, as it were, on the only family in Northwest America who could in Indian lore have acted as my guide, philosopher, and friend."
In 1790, John Johnston, a cultivated young Irishman, came to the far corner of the Northwest Territory to make his fortune intending to spend only a year. Instead he married Ozhah-guscoday- wayquay (The Woman of the Glade), daughter of the Ojibway chief Waub- ojeeg, and settled on the St. Mary's River. Together they founded a family that was loved, respected, and famous throughout the region for honesty, fairness, and hospitality. Their home was the center of culture for the area and for every visiting traveler, Native American or white. The Invasion chronicles a time when one culture violently supplanted another even as it depicts a family that blends two cultures together.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft considered the Johnston family his most valued connection to the Native American population. He eventually married Jane Johnston, daughter of John and The Woman of the Glade, and remain close to her entire family. In his diary, Schoolcraft wrote of the Johnstons, "I have in fact stumbled, as it were, on the only family in Northwest America who could in Indian lore have acted as my guide, philosopher, and friend."
- GenresFiction
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
47 people want to read
About the author
Janet Lewis
75 books19 followersJanet Loxley Lewis was an American novelist and poet.
She was a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she was a member of a literary circle that included Glenway Wescott, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and her future husband Yvor Winters. She was an active member of the University of Chicago Poetry Club. She taught at both Stanford University in California, and the University of California at Berkeley.
She was a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she was a member of a literary circle that included Glenway Wescott, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and her future husband Yvor Winters. She was an active member of the University of Chicago Poetry Club. She taught at both Stanford University in California, and the University of California at Berkeley.
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January 22, 2018
The title is a little alarming. This white man knew the book was about the interaction between the native Americans and the white men that came into the area of the upper tip of Michigan by Sault Ste. Marie. From growing up with Westerns, I reasonably assumed that this interaction is not pleasant and that "Invasion" would be full of scalps/retaliatory battles.
Instead it is the story of a family, the Johnstons, as they merged with the Ojibways. The patriarch, John Johnston, emigrated from Ireland in the 1790's and essentially randomly ended up in the area as a trader. He soon was befriended by the chief of the Ojibways and married his daughter (not without complications as they are related in the book).
The book traces this family through these two down to last living grand daughter at the turn of the twentieth century. Unlike many novels, the narrative is grounded with equanimity between the Native Americans and the "invaders". The invasion wasn't really a hostile invasion per se, but more of a seeping of a culture into one that was unprepared to counter it. We see the confusion between states of mind that are utterly incompatible - like building on a sacred burial ground where the white men only saw wilderness. Or that white men will lie to get what they want and "honor" is not as relevant as it was to the Ojibway.
Because the Johnston's were in-between the two cultures (as many Native American families were, they weren't unique) they played the role of interpreters, defenders and explicators between the two factions. It also helped business as a trader to have happy customers on both sides.
The narrative was built from family stories and documents, and at times it definitely feels like it. But one of the hidden treasures of the book was the way Lewis saw and described the land as the characters did and not always as resources to get temporarily wealthy on, but as a living thing to be respected - which was pretty cool to see in a 1932 book!
Instead it is the story of a family, the Johnstons, as they merged with the Ojibways. The patriarch, John Johnston, emigrated from Ireland in the 1790's and essentially randomly ended up in the area as a trader. He soon was befriended by the chief of the Ojibways and married his daughter (not without complications as they are related in the book).
The book traces this family through these two down to last living grand daughter at the turn of the twentieth century. Unlike many novels, the narrative is grounded with equanimity between the Native Americans and the "invaders". The invasion wasn't really a hostile invasion per se, but more of a seeping of a culture into one that was unprepared to counter it. We see the confusion between states of mind that are utterly incompatible - like building on a sacred burial ground where the white men only saw wilderness. Or that white men will lie to get what they want and "honor" is not as relevant as it was to the Ojibway.
Because the Johnston's were in-between the two cultures (as many Native American families were, they weren't unique) they played the role of interpreters, defenders and explicators between the two factions. It also helped business as a trader to have happy customers on both sides.
The narrative was built from family stories and documents, and at times it definitely feels like it. But one of the hidden treasures of the book was the way Lewis saw and described the land as the characters did and not always as resources to get temporarily wealthy on, but as a living thing to be respected - which was pretty cool to see in a 1932 book!
Displaying 1 of 1 review