The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright

by Ann M. Little

An eye-opening biography of a woman whose life intersected with three distinct cultures in eighteenth-century colonial New England, French Canadian, and Native American

“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.’ Deeply researched, and wonderfully contextualized . . . [this book] opens a wide window on three major cultural venues, whose interplay defined and shaped a whole era.”—John Demos, author of The Unredeemed A Family Story from Early 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, she was enrolled at a French-Canadian Ursuline convent, where she would spend the rest of her life, eventually becoming the order’s only foreign-born mother superior. Among these three major cultures of colonial North America, Wheelwright’s life was border-crossing, multilingual, and multicultural. This meticulously researched book discovers her life through the communities of girls and women around the free and enslaved women who raised her in Wells, Maine; the Wabanaki women who cared for her, catechized her, and taught her to work as an Indian girl; the French-Canadian and Native girls who were her classmates in the Ursuline school; and the Ursuline nuns who led her to a religious life.

Genres: History, Biography, Grad School, Nonfiction, School

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2016

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students didn’t enjoy this as much as I wanted them to. It does “thick description” when they wanted more action. Still, they enjoyed learning about women’s history in three cultures. The way Esther takes control of her own life even while being taken captive is quite inspiring. Little’s creative use of sources is instructive for budding historians. The way boundary crossers problematize national identity formation was one of my favorite things about the book. That and a fun dip into Canadian history.

[Elka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating study of a fascinating woman. Raised in Puritan New England, captured by the Abenaki, and ending up a mother superior in a convent in Quebec, Esther Wheelwright led an extraordinary life. This book is too academic to be a popular read, and I'm not entirely convinced that it has any groundbreaking conclusions. Yet it brings to light a historical figure who has merited too little attention.

[A.J. Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little writes a triumphant story about Wheelwright and three intersecting communities of women and girls in colonial North America. In so doing, Little transforms North American History from the sole territory of European men to a multi-layered, more satisfyingly complex, real history about real people. Fascinating read. Tremendous accomplishment.

[Annika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright is a microhistory about an eighteenth-century woman who was born in Maine, taken captive by the Wabanaki at age seven, and became an Ursuline nun in Quebec as a teen. She lived through multiple wars and adapted to multiple cultures and languages. Little focuses on daily life: smells, food, clothes, and family structures. You really get a sense of what it was like to live in that era. But, she doesn't neglect how broader political situations affected Esther's life. Throughout, her focus is on the communities of women who shaped Esther's life and the similarities between the lives of eighteenth-century North American women regardless of what culture they belonged to. Due to a lack of sources, Little often makes guesses and assumptions about Esther's inner life and emotions, but she's clear about when she's speculating. If you're a microhistory or biography fan, I highly recommend the book.

[Ai Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay--I'm not convinced necessarily that Little really gets into the 'borderlands' parts of her claims that she makes, and boy could her readings of Wabenaki culture really benefit from some indigenous studies--but not terrible? The Wabenaki chapter was probably the weakest, which isn't hugely surprising, and the connections she makes between the three cultures Esther Wheelwright went through were sometimes tenuous at best. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Betsy Ross and the Making of America--lots about the material culture surrounding them, lots of meandering sort of side information that may be useful to some people but felt extraneous to me at times. If you liked that book though, you'll probably really like this one!

[William Nist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esther Wheelwright was born a Protestant in New England, captured as a child by evangelized Wabanaki Indians who taught her a Jesuit form of Catholicism; freed into the French territories of the future Quebec, and decided after being schooled by the Ursuline Sisters to join them as a choir nun, only to be elected thrice to Reverend Mother of her convent- - This is her unlikely story. I enjoyed this small gem of biography and history!

[Erin Smalley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be 3.5 or maybe 4 on a good day. Good themes, thought provoking. A very sensory-focused historical take. Great at putting you in the shoes of someone, but sometimes felt lacking in sources. Granted there weren’t a lot of sources at the time but some parts just felt like there were a lot of liberties being taken. Still good tho

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but for me it read like a university dissertation - not very engaging.

[K Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very telling biography that has snapshots of the lives of women in various places and circumstances in eastern North America in the 1700s. Didn’t make it to the end.