08/22/2016
In this meticulously researched biography, Little (Abraham in Arms), associate professor of history at Colorado State University, traces the life’s journey of Esther Wheelwright (1696–1780), a New England–born nun who ended up as the mother superior of a French-Canadian Ursuline convent. Wheelwright was captured by Wabanaki Indians at age seven, spending five years immersed in their culture. Little follows Wheelwright’s life among the French-Canadian Ursulines, whose order she joined at age 12 and where she rose to prominence and influence, “the only foreign-born superior in the order’s nearly 400-year history.” Little thoroughly reconstructs the everyday aspects of the era, addressing food, clothing, education, and religion to demonstrate that the English, Wabanaki, and French shared many similarities despite their differences. The book is as much about Wheelwright’s environment and multiple cultures as about the woman herself: a “story of whole communities of women, and how they lived and worked, and suffered and thrived in Early America.” It is also “about families that are formed by choice as well as blood,” and the things that “bind the generations of North American women, one to another across the centuries and down to the present, and beyond.” Though detail-rich and slow going, academically constructed and complicated, Little’s work offers deep insight into the era. (Oct.)
An utterly absorbing, brilliantly told analysis of a singular life. Little offers us a fresh way to think about early America by foregrounding a female subject and a rich body of primary sources produced by women, and by challenging our gendered notions of appropriate biographical subjects.”—Sophie White, author of Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana
Ann Little has produced a stunning biography. From fragments she has woven a compelling tapestry, restoring the life of an eighteenth-century North American woman with depth and sensitivity, not only to her subject but to the ways of recreating past lives.”—Peter C. Mancall, author of Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson—A Tale of Mutiny and Murder in the Arctic
Esther Wheelwright’s journey—from Puritan girl, to Wabanaki captive, to mother superior of the largest Catholic convent in French Canada—is one of the most fascinating personal stories in the annals of what we call ‘colonial history.’ And now, as recounted by Ann Little, it offers something more. Deeply researched, and wonderfully contextualized, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright opens a wide window on three major cultural venues, whose interplay defined and shaped a whole era.”—John Demos, author of The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America
In Little’s hands, Wheelwright becomes a vehicle for discussions of any number of subjects, from comparative imperialism to gender, authority and aging in colonial North America. The biographical lens makes it possible to convey important but comparatively abstract historiographical analysis through tangible life experiences.”—Marla R. Miller, author of Betsy Ross and the Making of America
The story of Wheelwright is unique in its details, but ends up telling a larger story about the lives of women in the region, as well as religion, warfare, status, human nature and rivalry on a local and world stage. This is a book that deserves a permanent place on any bookshelf dedicated to the history of Maine.”—Portland Press Herald
★ 08/01/2016
In August 1703, seven-year-old Esther Wheelwright (1696–1780) was captured by Wabanaki warriors during their attack on the New England frontier town of Wells. Adopted into a native family, the author became known as Mali and converted to Catholicism. At age 12, she moved to Quebec where she was enrolled in a school for native children. By 17, she had assumed the name of Sister Marie-Joseph de L'Enfant-Jésus and joined the Ursulines of Quebec as a choir nun. Her service to the order culminated with election to the post of Mother Superior. Using fragmentary resources, Little (history, Colorado State Univ.; Abraham in Arms) has produced a fascinating biography of an extraordinary woman. Notably, the author deftly details the lives of women who interacted with Esther, including the Protestant women of her early childhood, indentured servants, slaves, Wabanakis, French aristocrats, and nuns. This monograph also provides valuable insights into how Quebec was transformed after its conquest by British forces during the French and Indian War. VERDICT A must-read for anyone interested in colonial North America. Curious readers should also consider John Demos's The Unredeemed Captive.—John R. Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY
Little has produced a fascinating biography of an extraordinary woman. . . . A must-read.”—Library Journal, starred review“The story of Wheelwright is unique in its details, but ends up telling a larger story about the lives of women in the region, as well as religion, warfare, status, human nature and rivalry on a local and world stage. This is a book that deserves a permanent place on any bookshelf dedicated to the history of Maine.”—Portland Press Herald“Little manages to weave together the smallest details of everyday life into a broad, colorful tapestry that rescues Esther from historical obscurity and places her as a woman among other women within her wider colonial North American context. Little’s accomplishment is to be both lauded and emulated.”—Colleen Gray, William and Mary Quarterly"It is time to take the opposite approach—to transform genre in light of our broadening understanding of gendered dynamics in early American history. If indeed such a methodological revolt takes place, no small thanks will be due to Ann Little’s The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright."—Christopher Hodson, New England Quarterly"The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright is an excellent choice for students of early American history and a compelling read for all lovers of history."—Kelly A. Ryan, Journal of American History"Well worth reading. . . . The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright is well-written, well-researched—an important book that will appeal to scholars."—Vivian Bruce Conger, Early Modern Women“The reader is illuminated. We learn a great deal about the colonial worlds through which Esther Wheelwright moved, even when she herself can barely be glimpsed. . . . All will be grateful for these glimpses of a world made in no small measure by ‘sisters and mothers . . . mothers and daughters’ and for the chance to watch a historian carry out her humane craft.”—Catherine O’Donnell, Journal of Early American HistoryAnn M. Little, Associate Professor of History at Colorado State University, has been selected as the winner of the 2018 Albert B. Corey Prize for the The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright (Yale Univ. Press, 2016). The Corey Prize is awarded biennially by the American Historical Association (AHA) in recognition of the best book on Canadian-American relations or on the history of both countries.“In Little’s hands, Wheelwright becomes a vehicle for discussions of any number of subjects, from comparative imperialism to gender, authority and aging in colonial North America. The biographical lens makes it possible to convey important but comparatively abstract historiographical analysis through tangible life experiences.”—Marla R. Miller, author of Betsy Ross and the Making of America“An utterly absorbing, brilliantly told analysis of a singular life. Little offers us a fresh way to think about early America by foregrounding a female subject and a rich body of primary sources produced by women, and by challenging our gendered notions of appropriate biographical subjects.”—Sophie White, author of Wild Frenchmen and Frenchified Indians: Material Culture and Race in Colonial Louisiana“Esther Wheelwright’s journey—from Puritan girl, to Wabanaki captive, to mother superior of the largest Catholic convent in French Canada—is one of the most fascinating personal stories in the annals of what we call ‘colonial history.’ And now, as recounted by Ann Little, it offers something more. Deeply researched, and wonderfully contextualized, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright opens a wide window on three major cultural venues, whose interplay defined and shaped a whole era.”—John Demos, author of The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America“Ann Little has produced a stunning biography. From fragments she has woven a compelling tapestry, restoring the life of an eighteenth-century North American woman with depth and sensitivity, not only to her subject but to the ways of recreating past lives.”—Peter C. Mancall, author of Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson—A Tale of Mutiny and Murder in the Arctic
