Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony by Lee Miller

This book purports to solve the mystery of the Lost Colony. I think it offers a fairly plausible solution--but I am by no means convinced that it is the only solution. Miller asserts that conspirators in England who wanted to hurt Sir Walter Raleigh made sure that the colonization mission would be unsuccessful, that while some colonists went to Croatan, the majority were enslaved in the interior of what is now North Carolina, and that Roanoke was a dangerous place to stay because of two previous English expeditions which had mistreated the Native Americans. I think Miller's approach was useful--I appreciate that she considers the bigger picture, and not just the colonists themselves. She hasn't convinced me that her solution is entirely correct. The style of the book is a little odd: it's neither quite scholarly (there are lots of footnotes, but it seems more colloquial than most monographs), nor written for popular consumption. Still, I think this book broadened my knowledge of what happened in North America in the sixteenth century, and it gave me a lot to think about--all in a very enjoyable package.

Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card

This book continues the story of Alvin Maker, but it fits his story into that of William Henry Harrison, Tecumsah, and the Shawnee. It made me wish I knew more about that history, so I could tell what was accurate and what was stretched. I really liked the way this book thought about war, relations beaten very different groups of people, and how to live with the land. It's structure also was thought-provoking: the book overlaps in time with the first book, do the reader gets to experience some events all over again in a really powerful way.

The Cherokees by Grace Steele Woodward

This book definitely reflects the time in which it was written. I was looking for a fairly basic and comprehensive history of the Cherokees. I found that history here. I think Woodward did a good job going to primary sources for her facts, and it mostly covered the history I wanted to hear about (although I was hoping for more on the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation after the US government forcibly relocated the Cherokees to what is now Oklahoma). But, the attitude of the author (that Cherokee culture became worth preserving at the point where they adopted Western attitudes and became, in her words, "civilized") was troubling to me.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

I enjoyed this book which imagines the story of the first Wampanoag graduate of Harvard (Caleb) from the perspective of a minister's daughter (Bethia) who befriends him. The figure of Caleb is historical, but Brooks admits in a note that she has imagined his character. I particularly liked the book's attention to religion and the role of religion in the early settlement of New England, and the book's interest in education: especially in who gets it and in under what conditions. Finally, the book paid a lot of fruitful attention to what a cross-cultural friendship might look like. Another satisfying read from this author.

Converging Stories: Race, Ecology, and Environmental Justice in American Literature by Jeffrey Myers

This book contends that we ought to understand racial injustice and environmental degradation as coming out of similar Euroamerican attitudes toward the other. It marshals Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, Thoreau's nature writings, Chesnutt's The Conjure Woman, Zitkala-Ša's Old Indian Legends, and Eddy L. Harris's Mississippi Solo to show both how racist attitudes can reinforce an inability to live with or understand nature and how antiracism and ecology can work hand in hand to move toward a more egalitarian society. I found the book reasonably convincing in its arguments (the environmental claims get a bit radical for my tastes at some points) and altogether an enjoyable and quick read.

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

I felt that this book was one of the weaker entries in the Outlander series. Jamie, Claire, Roger, and Brianna have a series of adventures in North Carolina--there are some plot lines that get lost in the shuffle--and several don't get finished. There are several plot points (usually medical) that stretch the limits of belief. I enjoy parts of the series, and I'm so far in now, I'll probably keep going, but the first book was the best.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

This book continues the adventures of Claire and Jamie Fraser in colonial America. They're joined by their daughter Brianna, once she discovers news of their death from the 20th century. The plot of this book moved better than I thought it would once it got started, although I'm not sure that the overall narrative arc was complete (lots of things felt like they were left hanging)--this series definitely builds from one book to the next. Enjoyable, though I feel at times the book's playing the game of trying to figure out how one might transfer knowledge of modern medicine back 200 years.

Multiethnic Literature and Canon Debates edited by Mary Jo Bona and Irma Maini

This collection of essays contends that the culture wars of the 1980s are not yet over, and that we need to continue studying and acknowledging the importance of multiethnic literature, especially in an American context. The quality of the essays varies. Some merely rehash the debates over the canon (sometimes with a particular perspective). Others give readings; I found the reading of The Great Gatsby as an ethnic work particularly helpful. The third section (which has more of a cultural studies bent and examines the canon from the perspective of popular culture) was perhaps the most useful section and the most innovative.

Edgar Huntly; Or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown

In this book Edgar Huntly investigates the death of his best friend and stumbles on another character whose experiences begin to eerily mirror his own. I was intrigued by the presence of Native Americans in the text (especially insofar as the circumstances of their attacks are both wildly inflated and downplayed). I was also interested in the theme of sleepwalking and the relationship between the sleeping and waking states and their relationship to motivation as well. Finally, I was intrigued by the presence of a Gothic sublime in the landscape.

Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians by Lydia Maria Child

This book collects both Child's romance, Hobomok, and a variety of short stories and other pieces on Native Americans. Hobomok is really intriguing; the plot is straight forward sentimental (the heroine's father opposes a love match with an Episcopalian. After a ship wreck, the heroine marries Hobomok [a Native American] and has a child, but when the Episcopalian comes back, Hobomok retreats into the wilderness for his wife to marry her first love). Despite the conventional plot, I was really interested in several aspects of the story: Mary Conant (the heroine) uses witchcraft to discover who her husband will be early in the story, there's doubling going on between the Episcopalian and Hobomok, and there's an intriguing and unsettled frame narrative that gives the novel an historical air. The other stories were fairly well-done; and some of them were quite moving.

The Female American by Unca Eliza Winkfield (Anonymous)

This book combines elements of Robinson Crusoe and John Smith's account of the happenings at Jamestown--particularly the Pocahontas parts. A young woman, daughter of a Native American princess and an English colonist, is educated in England, but briefly returns to America with her father (her mother having died quite some time ago). Her father dies in America and Unca Eliza decides to return to England again, but she's left on a deserted island by a scheming captain. I'm particularly intrigued by the ways that gender play out in the text: she's left with a full set of instructions on how to live on the island (because how could a woman figure it out on her own?), but she ends up playing God to teach the locals about Christianity; she lives self-sufficiently and happily on the island and expresses to her cousin SEVERAL times her intention only to marry someone who can shoot the bow and arrow as well as she can (he, being an English cousin, cannot), and yet, when he shows up on the island with a convoluted story as to how he found her, she marries him anyway. Another strange point is that although Unca Eliza seems to have little interest in material wealth for herself (she chooses to remain as a missionary on her island instead of going home to enjoy the colonial wealth her father accumulated), she sends all the golden religious artifacts that she finds on the island home to her family--thereby stripping the island of its religious and material heritage. All in all, a strange and delightful book.

Messy Beginnings: Postcoloniality and Early American Studies edited by Malini Johar Schueller and Edward Watts

This collection of essays makes the case that it's fruitful to talk about postcolonial theory and Early American Studies together. While I found some essays more relevant and helpful than others (Jennifer Greeson's essay on Crevècoeur, Michael Drexler's essay on Charles Brockden Brown, Leonora Sansay, and Haiti, and Geoffrey Sanborn's essay on Hawthorne stand out), the collection is sharply researched and opens new possibilities of thought. I found the introduction particularly helpful as well, both in laying out the stakes of the project, thinking about what has gone before, and in situating the essays in relation to each other.

Black Hills: A Novel by Dan Simmons

I found this book to be a fascinating account of Paha Sapa, a Lakota man who finds himself present at several key moments in Western history, including the Battle of Little Bighorn and the construction of Mount Rushmore. There's a definite fantasy/sci-fi slant to this novel, as Paha Sapa has extraordinary powers of perception and lives with Custer's ghost. I thought the ending was a bit deus-ex-machina, but otherwise, I found this book both beautiful and enjoyable.

Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647 by William Bradford

This book contains William Bradford's retrospective account of the Pilgrims' settlement at Plymouth Plantation. The beginning portions of the book, which give the account of how the Pilgrims came to New England via Leyden in Holland, and their struggles in the first winter, and their dealings with the Native Americans through Squanto's help were all familiar to me as they match (more or less) the story that gets told about the Pilgrims. The later parts, including all the difficulties in dealing with the investors in England, the bad behavior of some of the colonists (which ends up being presented in surprising detail), and the growth of the colony (and of people coming to other places in New England) was more of a surprise. The prose is remarkably clear to the modern ear.