The Indian Captivity Narratives Page


The Major Narratives

Mary Rowlandson, The Soveraignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed; Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson ( 1682 ). Many later reprints.

John Williams, The Redeemed Captive, Returned to Zion ( 1707 ). Also often reprinted. Inexpensive reprint published by Applewood, 1989. Williams was captured during the infamous Deerfield massacre, the responsibility for which was with the French as much as it was with the Abenakis.

Charles H. Lincoln, Narratives of the Indian Wars, 1675-1699 ( 1913 ). Reprint by Barnes and Noble, 1959. Part of the Original Narrative Series published by Scribner's, this text is unfortunately out of print.

About Captivity Narratives

John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America. Knopf, 1994.

Gary L. Ebersole, Captured By Texts: Puritan to Postmodern Images of Indian Captivity. Virginia, 1995.

Kathryn and James Derounian and Arthur Levernier, Indian Captivity Narrative, 1550-1900. Twayne, 1993.

Francis Parkman, A Half-Century of Conflict. Chapter IV deals with the Deerfield massacre. The French instigated the attack so as to furnish the Abenakis with something with which to occupy themselves, on the theory, perhaps, that an idle mind is the Devil's workshop.

Gordon M. Sayre, ed. American Captivity Narratives. Houghton-Mifflin, 2000. Contains captivity accounts of Mary Rowlandson, Olaudah Equiano, and others.

About Mary Rowlandson

Mary Rowlandson from D. Campbell.
Mary Rowlandson from American Literature on the Web.
An Interpretation of Rowlandson's Captivity Narrative by Caroline Gleason.

Back to American Literature I