The Woman Who Fell from the Sky

Aristocrat Margaret Addison leaves England in the seventeenth century to sail to the New World, where she survives a Mohawk massacre and is adopted by members of the Oneida tribe, who teach her the many strengths of their way of life

As this ambitious new novel by Riefe ( A Woman of Dreams ) opens, Margaret Addison Lacroix, an 17th-century English aristocrat, is sailing up the Hudson River toward Quebec to join her new husband, a French army officer whom she has married by proxy. (The union has been made possible thanks to the lull in hostilities between Britain and France engineered by Quebec's famed Governor-General Frontenac, who plays an important, if off-page, role here.) Margaret's plans for a church wedding and a peaceful life are shattered, however, when the ship is attacked by Indians. All aboard are killed except Margaret, who is saved by a hunting party of Oneidas. To them, the white woman is Ataentsic, the Iroquois spirit called the Woman Who Fell from the Sky, who created the world. Though Margaret is repelled by her primitive rescuers, she has no choice but to go along peaceably. The narrative is as much about the clash of cultures as about one woman's journey. Riefe, who's part Mohican, weaves an extraordinary amount of period detail into her story and evinces a strong feel for Indian culture. Vigorous writing, including crisp dialogue and well-rounded characters enliven this vivid if unusually violent tale, which brings its gutsy heroine to a fateful decision--and will leave readers looking forward to its promised sequel.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ultimately unsatisfying historical fiction with some interesting moments. In her hardcover debut, Riefe, who claims to be of Mohican ancestry, plumbs the history of the five Indian nations that composed the Iroquois Confederacy. The grouping became a central player and pawn in the protracted struggle between the French and English for control of North America. Their alliance with the latter may have been decisive in the outcome of the so-called French and Indian Wars, which sealed the fate of New France. Into this situation of warfare and intrigue sails (literally) Margaret Addison Lacroix, an English aristocrat who has been married by proxy to a French officer serving in Quebec. She is journeying up the Hudson when her ship becomes grounded on a sandbar. A sitting duck, the vessel is attacked by Mohawks. All are killed and the ship is set ablaze. Only Margaret narrowly manages to escape. She is found and rescued by Two Eagles, war chief of the Oneidas, who thinks she is Ataentsic, the woman who, according to legend, fell from the sky and is credited with creating the earth. As the two (along with other members of Two Eagles's party) journey deeper into Indian country, the Native's civilized and human demeanor is contrasted sharply with that of Margaret's husband, a debauching, cheating, murdering drunkard. Eventually delivered to Quebec and to Governor-General Frontenac (a real-life personage whose Treaty of Ryswik put a temporary stop to the wars during the period in which this novel is set), Margaret finds out, to her ultimate relief, that Lacroix has not married her by proxy and, lacking mutuality, the union is void. Lacroix is imprisoned and Margaret is left with no doubt that it is not the Indians who are savages here in the Americas. Well-researched and generally a brisk read, the novel still comes up short, curiously lacking resonance to compel the reader. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

If you are interested in Iroquois history, lore, and crafts-and improbably silly characters-go no farther. About the time of the French and Indian Wars, the intrepid heroine, Margaret-a spoiled member of the English gentry-is on her way up the Hudson River to settle in Quebec with Pierre, a soldier, degenerate rakehell, and her husband by proxy. The boat is attacked and destroyed by savage Mohawks, and Margaret flees barefoot in her nightgown. The next day she is found by a band of friendly Oneidas, led by the powerful, handsome, and taciturn Two Eagles. (Do we smell the beginnings of a "bodice ripper" here?) Margaret then proceeds to walk 150 miles in three days in corn cob slippers without raising a blister; is raped into unconsciousness several times; and, finally, gives up Pierre, civilization, warm clothes, wealth, and shoes to live forever with Two Eagles. It's love! The only parts of this book that are credible are the portraits of the Indians and the high-handed treatment afforded them by "civilized" whites. Not recommended.
Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In late-seventeenth-century America, young English aristocrat Margaret Addison is the sole survivor of a brutal Mohawk raid. She is rescued by a tribe of Oneidas who agree to accompany her back to Quebec and her fiance, Captain Pierre Lacroix. The trip doesn't go well. The elements and other hostile tribes result in the deaths of Margaret's first group of escorts. She is taken captive and brutally raped by Onekahoncka, chief of another band of Oneidas. With the help of her captor's wife, she escapes into the wilderness where she is rescued by Two Eagles, one of the friendly Oneidas. On the road again, they not only face more misfortunes, but also begin to fall in love as Margaret comes to embrace the Oneidas' culture. It's only when she's finally safe and in the arms of Lacroix, though, that she admits to herself her powerful attraction to Two Eagles. An entertaining mix of Native American saga and bodice-ripping romance. Wes Lukowsky