INCONQUISTABLE.

by Neil H. Swanson

Barcelona. 1951. Luis de Caralt. 20x15. 399p.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

Reviews

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting novelization of the Pontiac Conspiracy. Not a great book but a good read for a time when you want a bit of historical mostly-fiction.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A VERY well-written historical account of the Indian wars from approximately 1760 to 1767. There are sequels.

Interwoven with a beautiful sometime slave girl, Abigail ("Abby") Martha, and a man who spoke several Indian languages of the time, Christopher 1767 ("Chris") Holden. The Indians were: Seneca, Caughnawaga and Shawnee, Ottawa, Huron, Miami, Winebago and Ojibway. Written in 1947 and an unsanitized and sympathetic version of the "Pontiac" wars.

See pp iv and v, Xtopher ("ChrisCross") Holden's rather long letter upon receipt of the Declaration of Independence.
"We must now resolve to so conduct ourselves as to be worthy of the independence which we pledge ourselves to uphold with our lives.
Self government begins with government of self".
We need to go back to this!

In the southwest part of Pennsylvania, this ends with the siege of Fort Pitt. The circumstances and Abby and Chris are real, as are 85% of the other characters, places and thoroughly researched happenings. The bad guys are composites, tho also carefully researched. The tortures, the double, triple dealing (and sometimes even more complications) are very bloody but not outrageously so. George Washington is there, in meetings, and interacts briefly with the other characters. Chris gets away with Abby, as she is the great-grandparent of one of the Holdens of St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 1862.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two years ago, my oldest purchased a home in North Carolina that supports a fairly active retreat for NC authors. The lady from whom they purchased the home was a very active reader. She left behind several boxes of books. This was one of them. I was a fan of the Cecil B. DeMille movie with Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard although it has never received exceptional reviews. Why I didn't pursue the book a la 'Drums Along the Mohawk,' 'The Big Sky,' or 'The Last of the Mohicans' given how much I 'saw the movie' 'read the book' in my youth. This is somewhere between Frank Yerby and Rafael Sabatini, but just not in the same league. Not as steamy as some of Yerby's, but still pretty racy stuff for 1947. Historical accuracy? It has been a long time since I read Parkman on Pontiac's Conspiracy or Freeman on Washington's early years on the frontier. And, it's slow to really get started. We get back story (which is reasonably well written) up until about pg 166. I suspect, if I'd rated it the summer I was 14, it would be a 6 out of 5 just for the romance and adventure.

[Mole Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Motionless, he listened to the dismal wailing and the silence into which the wailing dribbled. Something was wrong. Not even the worst zany of a dog would yell like that in daytime - endlessly, monotonously - for nothing.
Pretty decent adventure/war story, though it is very "of its times" in regards to how it portrays Native peoples and women. Apparently, this is a companion volume to a movie that I'm going to have hunt down a DVD copy to watch. Or just pirate it I guess.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the basis for the movie, UNCONQUERED, made by Cecil B DeMille in 1947: in 1763 English girl, Abby Hale, 17, is sentenced to 14 years slavery in the colonies. On the voyage to America two men, Matthew Garth and Chris Holden, bid for her, and Chris is the winner. When they reach Virginia he frees her and leaves, but Garth claims her for himself. She ends up captured by Indians, and Chris miraculously appears and saves her. They escape via wild canoe chase and hide in cave under a waterfall. They make their way to Fort Pitt which is under siege by the Indians, but Chris runs away to find British reinforcements and saves the day. Garth is killed, and Chris and Abby are married. This is basically what happens in the movie.

The book is double the length it should be because it is filled with endless background information, padding, fillers, and there are many repetitions and irrelevant details. However, the book also contains scenes much too risque to be in the movie; e.g. the torture of Abby by the Indians before Chris saves her, two days in the waterfall cave where Chris and Abby discover their passion for each other and consummate their love (the author effectively compares the power of the waterfall to the passion of their lovemaking, and it is worth reading chapters 39 and 40).

[Patrick Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the perfect example of why I don't prefer novels and fiction books. It's not a bad book, the characters were building, albeit slowly, but I just can't seem to invest in them knowing they are made up. I prefer my characters to be actual people, historical folks.

While I know events in this book are true to historical events of the time, perhaps not exactly as presented with the Pontiac uprising however events as described happened in the era. I still could not get past the fact that it is a fiction book and I'm a non fiction reader. I took a chance, as I do at times, but ell short.