American Captivity Narratives (New Riverside Editions) - Softcover

Olaudah Equiano; Mary White Rowlandson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395980739 ISBN 13: 9780395980736

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2000

Synopsis

This volume collects a wide variety of works from a uniquely American literary tradition, the captivity narrative. Beginning with an excerpt from Hans Staden's The True History of His Captivity, which influenced the American captivity narrative, this volume presents accounts by early settlers held captive by Native Americans (Mary Rowlandson, John Smith), narratives by African American slaves (Olaudah Equiano, John Marrant), and others. Collected with the real-life accounts are two captivity poems by Lucy Terry and John Rolling Ridge, and several popular tales and legends on the subject.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Lauter is the Smith Professor of Literature at Trinity College. He has served as president of the American Studies Association and is a major figure in the revision of the American literary canon.

Review

1. Captive to Cannibals Hans Staden, from The True History of His Captivity (1557) 2. Saved by the Chief's Daughter Garcilaso de la Vega (The Inca), from La Florida (1605) John Smith, from The Generall History of Virginia (1624) 3. Jesuit Missionary Martyrs Isaac Jogues, Novum Belgium (1655) Christophe Regnaut, "A Veritable Account of the Martyrdom and Blessed Death of Father Jean de Brebeuf and of Gabriel Lalemant" (1649) 4. The Foundational Narrative of Mary Rowlandson Increase Mather, Preface to the Reader Mary Rowlandson, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God (1682) 5. Two Puritan Captivities as Told by Cotton Mather Cotton Mather, "A Notable Exploit" (1702) Cotton Mather, "A Narrative of Hannah Swarton" (1702) Henry David Thoreau, from A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) 6. Two African American Captives John Marrant, A Narrative of the Lord's Wonderful Dealings with John Marrant (1785) Olaudah Equian, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1784) 7. A Prisoner of War Adopted by the Iroquois James Smith, An Account of the Remarkable Occurences in the Life and Travels of Col. James Smith (1799) 8. A Legend of the American Revolution Michel Rene Hilliard d'Auberteuil, Miss McCrea: A Novel of the American Revolution (1784) 9. Two Captivity Poems Lucy Terry, "Bars Fight" (1855) John Rollin Ridge, "The Stolen White Girl" (1868) 10. Two Nineteenth-Century Popular Tales Anonymous, "The Indian Captive" from Columbian Almanac (1838) Gertrude Morgan: Or Life and Adventures among the Indians of the Far West (1866) 11. A Captive Indian S.M. Barrett, fromGeronimo's Story of His Lift (1906)

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0395980739
• ISBN 13: 9780395980736
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464
• Editor: Gordon M. Sayre