The narrative of the captivity and restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. First printed in 1682 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England; whereunto are annexed a map of her removes and biograph

by Mary Rowlandson

In February 1676, during King Philip's War, the frontier village of Lancaster, Massachusetts, was attacked by a party of Nipmuck Indians and completely destroyed. As relief from Concord approached, the attackers withdrew, taking with them 24 captives, including Mrs. Mary Rowlandson and her three children.

For almost three months the little family was forced to live with their captors and endure exposure to a New England winter.The youngest child, who had been injured during the attack, failed to survive. Eventually ransom was paid and the family released.

Mrs. Rowlandson's account of her experience was published in 1682. It became a"best-seller" of its day and created a new literary genre, the captivity narrative. Such accounts were in part responsible for the mistrust and hatred of the Indians that plagued the country for centuries. It is also the first publication in English by a woman in the New World.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1975

About the author

1635 -1711
Mrs. Mary White Rowlandson was a Puritan resident of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who was captured by Native Americans and held for 11 weeks before being ransomed in 1676. Her later memoir of these events became the first American best-seller, going through four editions in one year.

Reviews

[Billy Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made my students read this. We all regretted it! 😂

[Ava K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great to read critically and consider how Rowlandson's piece influenced early American perceptions of Native Americans. However, she perpetuates a dangerous narrative about the "savagery" of indigenous people when confronted with Rowlandson's white female martyrdom.