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150th out of 251 books
—
88 voters
Hope Leslie: or, Early Times in the Massachusetts
Set in seventeenth-century New England, Hope Leslie (1827) is a rich, fast-paced frontier romance, complete with bloody massacres, daring prison escapes, and alliances that violate the strictures of both white and Indian societies. A counterpoint to the novels of James Fenimore Cooper, it is also a revolutionary portrait of early American life, one that challenges the conv...more
Paperback, 399 pages
Published
November 1st 1998
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1827)
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Sep 16, 2011
Melissa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
English Majors, Anyone
Recommended to Melissa by:
Professor Wendy Dasler-Johnson
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
19-century
I had to read this book for my "American Novel" English class my senior year at Washington State University Vancouver. Professor Wendy Dansler-Johnson had it on our book list. The class meets only once a week for 3 hours at night and is mostly run like a book club. This was the second book we read this term (Fall 2011).
Normally, students think of required books as "okay" or "boring" or something to that affect. I have to say however, that Hope Leslie is one of my favorite books and is by far...more
Normally, students think of required books as "okay" or "boring" or something to that affect. I have to say however, that Hope Leslie is one of my favorite books and is by far...more
Often categorized (and thus demeaned) as a female Last of the Mohicans, Hope Leslie is a historical romance that accomplishes the unimaginable feat of making Puritans seem half-human. A full decade or so before Hawthorne would depict them as craggy, humorless grouches ("The Maypole of Merrymount"), Sedgwick manages to invest some real depth and conflict in the men and women of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, c. 1630-42 or so. This is at heart, however, a book about Native American relations, and o...more
This is my new favorite book. I read it for my American Literature class just recently and could not put it down. I even had to stop reading a few times because I was crying so hard.
It was written by Catharine Maria Sedgwick in 1827. The book is set in seventeenth-century New England amongst the Puritans in the Boston area. It was an interesting perspective into the lives of the puritans and their dealings with the indigenous Indians. Through the book, she displays all sides of the puritans. Sh...more
It was written by Catharine Maria Sedgwick in 1827. The book is set in seventeenth-century New England amongst the Puritans in the Boston area. It was an interesting perspective into the lives of the puritans and their dealings with the indigenous Indians. Through the book, she displays all sides of the puritans. Sh...more
I was sort of gung-ho about this for a while, but my interest tapered about halfway through. Then I was down to having one more chapter to read but wasn't able to finish it before I went out of town; so coming back to it today to finish even those last few pages was sort of like being told I missed a test in some class I skipped.
I picked this book up because it was referenced in depth in Ann Douglas's The Feminization of American Culture and I had a copy so why not see for myself what Douglas wa...more
I picked this book up because it was referenced in depth in Ann Douglas's The Feminization of American Culture and I had a copy so why not see for myself what Douglas wa...more
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Interesting themes going on here with the Puritans, Native Americans, and women's rights/place/ideals...the early American writers do quite like to ramble on, but the sensationalist/slightly gothic plot in the last hundred or so pages is quite riveting. Would be interesting to read alongside "The Scarlet Letter"...
This book was a little hard to get into because the language is so archaic since it was written over 250 years ago. However, it had been recommended to me by someone whose opinion I trusted, so I kept going. I'm glad I did. I began to get caught up in the story and to care about the characters. The author had an interesting attitude about people for someone of her time: race, culture and upbringing don't matter as much as goodness of heart. Also, outward professions and acts of righteousness don...more
Read #1
Started on August 23, 2012
Finished on September 16, 2012
3.5 stars
I think my favorite character in this has got to be Magawisca (will be writing my essay for American Literature about her). A satisfying enough ending, but I sometimes wished there was more about the Native American/Puritan conflict instead of the love triangle between Hope, Everell, and Esther. I enjoyed Sedgwick's writing, but the sidebar conversations she had with "her readers" started to annoy me and became incredibly ti...more
Started on August 23, 2012
Finished on September 16, 2012
3.5 stars
I think my favorite character in this has got to be Magawisca (will be writing my essay for American Literature about her). A satisfying enough ending, but I sometimes wished there was more about the Native American/Puritan conflict instead of the love triangle between Hope, Everell, and Esther. I enjoyed Sedgwick's writing, but the sidebar conversations she had with "her readers" started to annoy me and became incredibly ti...more
When Cooper wrote Last of the Mohicans, he created idiot women. Seriously. There are only 2 female characters. The smart on is killed off and the other one spends half the novel unconscious because she's always fainting.
The year after Cooper wrote his book, Sedwick wrote hers. Not satisfied wtih Cooper's depiction of American history without women, Sedgwick shows a wide variety of women--Native American, Puritan, Anglican, young and old, married and single. Sedgwick shows how important women we...more
The year after Cooper wrote his book, Sedwick wrote hers. Not satisfied wtih Cooper's depiction of American history without women, Sedgwick shows a wide variety of women--Native American, Puritan, Anglican, young and old, married and single. Sedgwick shows how important women we...more
The author of "Hope Leslie" is a contemporary of James Fenimore Cooper to give a frame of reference. This book is fun, it was for my class, but I would reccomend it to someone that likes to read about the early days in America (or New England). Hope Leslie is the main protagonist and she is always getting into scrapes, but she has such a charming personality that she always gets out of it too. :) I really like how Sedwick has some strong female characters and also how she shows both sides to the...more
I love this book so, so much. Sedgwick was a century ahead of her own time with the female perspective stronghold and quite possibly America's very underrated answer to Jane Austen. It's a fairly balanced book (for its time) regarding the relationship between English colonists and Native Americans, and it's action-packed enough to rival other frontier narratives of the era, such as Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans". I'm very grateful to my professor who introduced it to us in "Early American L...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Sedgwick was raised Puritan but ultimately broke ties with the religion because of the harsh treatment of nonbelievers. It is very obvious in this novel that she really struggled with her decision. Her description of the massacre of the Native Americans is heart breaking. But the revenge massacre of the white family caring for two native children is just as terrible. She describes the natives as savages but also raises the question of why whites believed they had a right to evict them from their...more
I'm sorry, but I really couldn't bring myself to care about this book. The first part (maybe the first 150 pages) were fascinating, but after that everything just went downhill. It was interesting and opens a lot of different perspectives of how white colonists and native Americans viewed one another and the atrocities that were committed in the name of crown and country, but I read this for a class and that killed it for me a little bit.
I read this for my American Identities class and I actually ended up enjoying it much more than I thought that I would. It's absurd in the way that books from this time period often are, but it also asks very thoughtful and interesting questions about morality and racism that are pretty fascinating. I don't know if I would recommend it, necessarily, but if you have to read it for whatever reason, you won't be too bored I don't think.
Catharine Maria Sedgwick is the first American women talking about Native Americans. I read this book while in college and we had a lot of disucssion surrounding this story.
Favorite quote: "When women put down their womanish thoughts and counsel like men, they should be obeyed," said my father. "Follow me, warriors."
Favorite quote: "When women put down their womanish thoughts and counsel like men, they should be obeyed," said my father. "Follow me, warriors."
Nov 16, 2008
Rachel
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Early-American history buffs and lovers of period pieces
Recommended to Rachel by:
College Course
Shelves:
3-liked-it
I am so glad I re-read this book. Hope Leslie is a fantastic story about early America - the search for a national identity, the adventure and danger of exploring new territories, the tensions between the American settlers and the native inhabitants, and the struggle between following your heart and supporting your cause. It also explores many timeless themes, such as the folly and innocence of youth, the balance between justice and mercy, and what makes a person good. And within all of that lie...more
I started reading this book about a year ago, but was interrupted after the first 50 pages or so. I picked it up last week & finished it today. I don't know if it was because the start of this book was interrupted or not, but for me, the first third of the book was a little slow. After that, I didn't want to put it down. I loved how this Early American female author created such strong female characters - Magawisca, who was brave, loyal, and proud; and Hope Leslie, who was strong-willed, tru...more
Read this as part of my BGS major in my early Am Lit class. I actually enjoyed this book for the type of work that it is. Think The Last of the Mohicans without the excess romantic language (though it is romantic by all means)
This compared to many others books of the period was my favorite. I'm sure Maria Sedgwick was way ahead of her time for writing this novel not only as a female but as an American in a Puritan society.
Early American breaking away from conduct book into a novel form. Worth it for the history and Magawisca's character, if nothing else. Read it for a "American Women Writers" class.
I actually enjoyed this early American novel. The characters were one too many and the plot was sometimes too convenient, but overall a fun story and several insights into religion and the "Native question." Reminded me a little of Radcliffe and as an early precursor to many of the later novels that I love so much.
I'm surprised I never heard of this book before my first year of college - it's a neat and organized mix of conflicts about Native Americans, Puritanism, sexism, racism, and colonialism all packed into a book with beautiful language. Sometimes the digressions can be a bit long, but it's a very interesting and entertaining read. Definitely a better love story than Twilight.
Required reading for Early American Lit. I almost appreciated it in an ironic sense, just from the melodrama. In the end, I'd rather not pick this book up ever again.
Great read - perhaps not the most eloquent or skilled, but interesting in that it's only recently been published and read after having been ignored for over a century.
It's still one of my favorite novels about Indians/white people/intermarriage, especially what with the trial and the "quivering member" and all that good stuff.
1827 account of Puritan life. A re-writing of the Pocahontas and other NA historical tales to favor the Native Americans.
haven't read it page by page. analyzed it in my literature class in university. plot lines were interesting, attitude and language outdated (obviously).
A book for class. Really interesting perspective on Native Americans from someone in early 1800s.
Unique early American perspective on Native American and colonizer interactions.
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Catharine Maria Sedgwick was born December 28, 1789 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. As a young woman, Sedgwick took charge of a school in Lenox. She converted from Calvinism to Unitarianism, which led her to write a pamphlet denouncing religious intolerance. This further inspired her to write her first novel, A New-England Tale.
With her work much in demand, from the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick mad...more
More about Catharine Maria Sedgwick...
With her work much in demand, from the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick mad...more
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Feb 02, 2009 06:35pm