It’s Esther Wheelwright’s 321st birthday! She was born March 31, 1696 (Old Style).* Since Esther has been dead for 237 years, I was thrilled to accept a birthday present on her behalf in the form of a rave review of my book, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright, at the Christian Century! (H/t to friend and … Continue reading Happy birthday Esther Wheelwright, with remembrances of other American ladies on this date in history.
Friends, if you’re in New England anywhere near the Piscataqua River, come out and see me talk about my book, The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright*, at the Berwick Academy as a guest of the Old Berwick Historical Society’s Forgotten Frontier lecture series this winter and spring. Last night, I was a guest of Bowdoin College where I … Continue reading The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright TONIGHT in South Berwick, Maine!
I feel like I’m dancing into a funeral wearing a party dress and a lampshade on my head, but in case you’re interested in a break from the general gloom, click on over to Ben Franklin’s World and check out my interview on Liz Covart’s podcast.
An eye-opening biography of a woman at the intersection of three distinct cultures in colonial America Born and raised in a New England garrison town, Esther Wheelwright (1696–1780) was captured by Wabanaki Indians at age seven. Among them, she became a Catholic and lived like any other young girl in the tribe. At age twelve, … Continue reading The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright
The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright gets a rave review in this morning’s Maine Sunday Telegram (the Sunday edition of the Portland Press Herald, FYI): Ann M. Little’s telling of Esther Wheelwright’s story illuminates issues of class, status and gender through the 18th century and across continents. In her intriguing new biography, “The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright,” Ann M. … Continue reading The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright gets a rave review in the Maine Sunday Telegram
Friends, I know it’s been a quiet month on the blog. What can I say? The news moves at the speed of light these days, and it’s difficult for me sometimes to conceptualize anything to add to the frantic online conversations. I wrote up a short article, “The Captivity of Otto Warmbier: Outsiders, Insiders, and … Continue reading Esther, encore, and farewell to the U.S.A.
Liberal and left-leaning news orgs are happily publicizing the latest evidence of the dishonesty by the Human Stain (and his family). He has allegedly ripped off another family’s coat-of-arms and rebranded it (you guessed it) as “TRUMP.” I have a few thoughts that may prove unpopular, but here goes: First, this seems to be a … Continue reading Coats of Arms are bullcrap. We all know this, right?
Peggy Noonan’s column in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, “Why History Will Repay Your Love” (sorry–paywalled!) is an extended advertisement for David McCullough’s latest book, and only secondarily an advertisement for McCullough’s totally original observations about history and its importance. (Get this! John Adams and Thomas Jefferson lived in their present, not our past! Also, … Continue reading History will repay your love. You don’t have to be a jerk.
For your convenience, here’s a list of my spring and early summer North American book tour stops. I hope to meet more of you in person, finally! Most of these events are free and all are open to the public: Thursday March 30–tomorrow night!–I’ll be at the Longmont Public Library to give a talk about The … Continue reading Alert the Media: Spring & summer book talk dates!
Oh, my friends: so much is happening globally, nationally, regionally, locally, and even here at the Black Cat Ranch that it’s hard to find time to blog even just one little bit these days. My apologies! Over the weekend I saved up some bits and bobs of oakum, old yarn, and loose string that might … Continue reading From the mailbag: it’s an old-fashioned, Historiann round-up!
Historiann 