Pocahontas

by Susan Donnell

A fictional portrait of a remarkable woman chronicles Pocahontas' role as mediator between Native Americans and the white settlers, her romance with John Smith, her journey to England and marriage, and her role as a founder of a prominent colonial Virginia dynasty

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Native American, Historical, Romance, Classics, Adult

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sit back, relax, and pour yourself a glass of wine, because I’m here to tell you a story.


Way back in 1607, the Virginia Company sailed the open seas to the New World, where they promptly settled in the Virginia settlement Jamestown. Led by the charismatic and devilishly good looking Captain John Smith, they quickly get to work trying to find gold and deal with those pesky savages. Along the way, John meets and quickly falls in love with Pocahontas, who teaches him to listen for wolves crying to the blue horned moon, turns him into a schizophrenic by having him ask potentially human killing bobcats why they grin, and has him paint with all the colors of the...

Oh shit wait, I’m sorry. I’m telling you the Disneyfied version of the story, aren’t I? Whoops....

But NEVER FEAR!!! For this book will, at last, tell you the TRUE story of Pocahontas!!! Not that generic, romanticized, and historically inaccurate (if not nice to look at), Disney movie. I mean, it’s told by a direct fourteenth-generation descendent of her. What could possibly go wrong?

"To John Smith of the Virginia Company, she was the greatest love of his life...."

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

WHAT. THE ACTUAL. FUCK.

NO. NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.

Pocahontas and John Smith were NOT, I repeat NOT with a capital N, lovers. It never happened.

This should’ve been a reason enough.



A 28 year old grown ass man wouldn’t be having a normal, romantical relationship with a 12 year old girl. Yes, older men did happen to marry younger girls, but it was often an arranged marriage set up by the two consenting families. These two were in the New World, and no written or historical indication was ever written at the time that there were ever arranged marriages between the Englishmen and the Indian women in Jamestown. (I say Englishmen because most of the settlers were, in fact, men. The ratio of men to women was shockingly low). The settlement was just getting started and it wouldn’t have helped already strained relations at all. It’s already been proven time and time again that they weren’t romantically involved; there are no written or oral records to prove it.

And if it did....
1) That’s just gross.
2) SOMEBODY CALL CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES.

You know what, Ms. Donnell? While you’re at it with this whole “John Smith and Pocahontas were lovers” scenario, why didn’t you just put in Grandmother Willow for good measure? You’ve already messed this up about enough as it is? A talking willow tree would’ve added the perfect touch.


Even the cover art isn’t accurate. It’s pretty alright, but that does NOT look like a 12 year old girl. Either that, or chicks back then started puberty at age 6.

Well, since we’ve already addressed the main, gigantic problem with this novel already, let’s address the smaller problems (you though I was done, didn’t you? I’M NOT!!!)

There were many other historical inaccuracies as well, though if I listed them all, you’d be sitting here forever. The other main pet peeve I had with this book is that the writing was so... boring. It read like one of those boring history textbooks. Heck, the Disney version was more exciting than this. There was too much dry historical terms. And for a book like this, I wouldn’t have used the third person POV. For events as exciting as this, I would’ve used first person POV.

I don’t think I would’ve been this upset at the book if it wasn’t marketed as “the actual true story of Pocahontas”. I hate to break it to you all, but it’s not. It’s basically the Disney movie with sex scenes. Yeah, yeah I get it; the whole romance plot line does make the story more interesting, but you know what? The story was already interesting enough to begin with! You don’t need to perpetuate this totally bogus myth any further than it already has become.

So as my closing piece of advice. if you’re a fan of the Disney version, but really REALLY wanted to see John Smith and Pocahontas get down and do the dirty, then this is literally the perfect book for you!

If you want the real version of Pocahontas’ story, and unfortunately pick up this book hoping for exactly that..... don’t even bother. It will just make you fly into a rage.



Or better yet, just stick with the Disney movies. At least you get some awesome songs and gorgeous animation.

And just one more Pocahontas related humor piece, just for old times’ sake.

[Anthea Ilpide · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed by this book, since I expected an accurate account of Pocahontas's life rather than a tale that basically reproduces the falsehood created by Disney, the only difference being the presence of adult material in this work. Indeed, Susan Donnell seems to have no respect for historical evidence which clearly states that Pocahontas and John Smith were NEVER romantically involved; the former may have had a girlish crush on him, which indeed could have developed into a stronger attachment. But the point is that it is very likely that this attraction remained one-sided and her love was unrequited. Instead of trying to build a worthy story based on those facts, the author insists on painting a torrid love affair between a 13-14 year-old girl and a 30 year-old man, disregarding all evidence to the contrary, which as a descendant of Pocahontas I thought was highly disrespectful and irrational.... she of all people should know better! Not to mention that even in purely fictional terms, the relationship described is slightly disgusting as it borders on pedophilia!

Donnell takes it even further by suggesting that when she visited London for the first time, Pocahontas found herself in the arms of John Smith all over again, although she was by then married to John Rolfe and the mother of a son! Again, this is a blatant distortion of the recorded historical facts, which simply declare that Pocahontas and John Smith indeed met in London, and even that this meeting overwhelmed her, probably for the reason mentioned above, namely that it is possible that Pocahontas WAS attracted to Smith, and suffered from the fact that he never returned her feelings. Instead of depicting this, which could have been very interesting and more to the point, historically accurate, Donnell makes Pocahontas, her alleged ancestor, into an adulteress!

And don't even get me started on the writing style of this so-called novel!!! I was frankly astounded to find such painfully obvious, cliche and over the top descriptions such as the following, which made it to my top 3: 'he was a god to her', 'his eyes were as blue as the sky' AND 'he felt weakened by the intensity of his hunger for her body. But he was equally fascinated by her personality'. I will refrain from commenting on these, and simply say 3 words that illustrate my reaction to reading this book: OMG (and NOT in a good way, obviously!)...

[Rikke Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Som mange andre voksede jeg op med Disneys filmudgave af "Pocahontas", og det faldt mig derfor aldrig ind, hvor dybt tragisk hendes historie rent faktisk er. Disney-versionen romantiserer det hele en del, og det er faktisk kun et fåtal, der kender til den sande historie. Første gang jeg læste Pocahontas var jeg overrasket, forundret og helt betaget af romanen, der er baseret på den autentiske historie om høvdingedatteren og koloniseringen af Nordamerika.

Jeg elsker virkelig den her bog, men jeg har også lidt svært ved at forklare hvorfor. Ved genlæsning af bogen slog det mig, at den ikke er skrevet i et synderligt flatterende sprog, den har ikke flotte konstruerede sætninger eller noget som helst - men den har fortællingen, og den historiske baggrund. Så selvom den er skrevet på en lidt anderledes måde, end de fleste bøger jeg normalt læser, så er det bare en af de bøger, der er blevet hos mig, og jeg anbefaler den ofte.

”Something fell across his back and shoulders. His body arched in surprise. Then he felt light arms encircle his head, a fall of hair brush past his cheek, smooth skin rest against his. He heard the soft familiar voice. “If they are going to kill you, they must kill me, too.”” - citat side 193.

Det er faktisk heller ikke kærlighedshistorien mellem Pocahontas og John Smith, som er det bærende for romanen, men derimod koloniseringen og portrætteringen af denne fra både englændernes side (fra John Smiths synvinkel) og indianernes side (fra Pocahontas synsvinkel). Det er også en slags dannelsesroman, hvor vi faktisk følger Pocahontas som barn og til hun bliver en voksen kvinde. Hvis du kan lide historien om Pocahontas (Disneys filmudgave) eller er glad for historiske romaner, så bør du virkelig læse den.

[Julie Rasmine Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den ultimative kærlighedshistorie om indianerprinsessen Pocahontas og den engelske kaptajn John Smith. Historien her minder meget lidt om Disneys fortolkning, men den er ligeså fantastisk🍂 om magt, kolonisering, de vildes møde med de hvide, politik, intriger, krig, overlevelse og forbudt kærlighed, der aldrig glemmes.

[Elo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh lords, this is bad. Bad, bad, bad.
Which is quite sad, as it was written by one of Pocahontas descendant so I was expecting something a bit more close to the truth (as we know it) but this is like an adult fanfic of the Disney movie, heavily romanticized in the most ridiculous ways.

I’m far from an expert on the subject but even I cringed more than once at all the things Pocahontas does for the « love » of John Smith. Like betraying and murdering people! WTF??

I’m not saying she wasn’t interested in the newcomers and wanted to build something (maybe) between the two worlds but here the colonists CLEARLY bid time, lie and make a full of Pocahontas’ father and yet, at some point she actually blame her father when he finally has enough just because HER LOVE.
Reading this, the colonists are the victims and Pocahontas is their greatest defender against her own people. Please? Kill me now!

This is just so sad because I imagine she was a clever child (yet she’s younger when she met John Smith first, another weird thing that this novel add: peodophilia much? Not matter how « unique » she’s still a child man) that grew up to be an amazing woman with a fascinating short life and none of it shows in this book.
It’s sad that all her descendant could think to write about her famous ancestor, even with research (so she says) was how Aauuwwtt John Smith was....

[Sam Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ik leerde Pocahontas kennen zoals de meesten van ons; als Disney prinses. Maar al snel leerde ik dat ze echt had bestaan. Mijn familie is Engels en mijn oom woont in Gravesend waar ze uiteindelijk is gestorven. Op de begraafplaats daar staat een standbeeld waar ik altijd even langs loop als ik Gravesend bezoek.
Ik weet niet precies wat het is, maar ik heb Pocahontas en haar verhaal altijd fascinerend gevonden. Toen ik dit boek tegenkwam tijdens een tuintjesmarkt was ik dan ook razend enthousiast! En nu blijkt dat ik eigenlijk heel weinig van haar wist. Wat een bijzondere vrouw was dit! Ik weet zeker dat ik snel weer langs haar standbeeld ga als ik mijn familie ga bezoeken.

Een bijzondere bijkomstigheid: Dit boek heb ik uitgelezen op maandag 5 april. Op deze dag in 1614 trouwde Pocahontas met John Rolfe. Het moest zo zijn.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first go round with reading historical fiction on Pocahontas. And I must say, it was a good experience. I enjoyed this book very very much, considering my mom was against me buying it, since the cover was tacky as hell. This book is living proof that "don't judge a book by its cover"

It was well written and well researched, some parts seem a little bit too far fetched, but all the other good parts made up for it. I ended up tearing up at the end, even though I know how the story ends.

It was of course romanticized. I'm on the fence about the whole love story between Pocahontas and John Smith, even though I adore Disney's rendition of Pocahontas and Terrance Malick's recent adaption of the story. (The New World)

In other words: I loved it, great book.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Je comprends parfaitement qu'on manque d'écrits sur Pocahontas surtout au vu de l'époque. Je comprends aussi que les récits de John Smith soient clairement exagérés.

Mais sérieusement, dépeindre Pocahontas (la vraie hein, car sur la quatrième de couverture on fait bien une différence entre celle la et celle du disney) comme une amoureuse transie d'un colon qui a 2 fois son âge, et qui ne vit que pour devenir une parfaite petite chrétienne qui bénit l'arrivée des européens, je ne suis pas sûre que ce soit vraiment fidèle à son histoire.

À part ça, les 200 premières pages sont assez plates, les 200 dernières il se passe plus de choses mais c'est sans cesse teinté par Pocahontas qui meurt d'amour pour John qui occupe constamment ses pensées. Bref, pas fan du tout de la vision des choses selon laquelle les colons apparaissent comme des victimes qui doivent être sauvés par Pocahontas qui a été mise sur le droit chemin par l'un d'eux.

[Valeria · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El amor había nublado los pensamientos de mi hermana... Al devolveros vuestras espadas, ese día, se olvidó de los suyos. Sin embargo, jamás la culpé... Era tan escurridiza como el viento"

Disney convirtió todo en una historia bonita, cuando la realidad era muy distinta.
No sé, me da pena el final que tuvo Pocahontas, la manera en la que ella era tan libre, como ingenua, y como el amor la llevó a perderse por completo.
Creo que es aún más triste, que el libro fuera contado desde el punto de vista de su hermano, ya que te da una mirada más amplia a la realidad, sin la romantización.
Es triste como eso pasó en varias culturas, en el momento de la colonización, y bueno, solo quedan estas historias que nos enseñan y muestran todo lo que hemos perdido de nuestros orígenes.

[agata · Rating 5 out of 5]

mocne 4,5

[Cayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like books set in early America. Typically I'd rather find books set BEFORE the English/Spanish/French came to the Americas but it seems these types of books are rather hard to come across. That being said, Pocahontas was a very great read I found it to be exciting. We are travelling along with Pocahontas as history is being made. The book portrays her as being pro-English (which I suppose must be true I had just never really thought about it in depth before.) It got me to wondering if she could have known how things would eventually turn out for her people and their descendants would she have done anything differently. Which leads to thoughts of how would things have been different if the English had not been able to establish a colony in Virginia. Anyways that is really neither here nor there on the subject of the actual book, but I do love getting a book that makes you think about it even while not reading.

I found the characters to be well drawn and very intriguing, the book is very fast paced and even though it is quite big you don't really notice, as you read pages just fly by. Mrs.Donnell's writing made me think of another book I really enjoy called Follow The River. I'd be interested in reading more of her books if she has any set in the same time period/subject.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I really don’t know much about Pocahontas, and I thought it would be interesting to read the story told from a direct descendant. I don’t know how much of this account is true or not, as it is fiction, but I would assume it’s more accurate than Disney’s take.

I enjoyed the writing of this book, and I loved seeing the culture of the Indians from Pocahontas’s POV, as the book does a great job at giving details about the culture while staying in an insider’s head about it all.

Though, while I enjoyed Pocahontas, I can’t say I really cared how John Smith was portrayed—which, I have no idea of his real life personality, but the introduction of him isn’t all that positive of an impression.

However, I only read a hundred pages in. The book was good and all, but in Chapter 5 Pocahontas “becomes” a woman, and then suddenly she is filled with sexual urges… I almost stopped reading then, but I decided to continue on. Cue next chapter, where John Smith is thinking about the sex he had before leaving England. And it was much more graphic than Pocahontas’s lust a few pages earlier.

So, after that incident, I no longer have any interest in finishing this book. The farther this story goes, the more lust and sex are brought up, and I’m not interested in that kind of content.

[Shen Git · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this in high school, circa 2003-ish. And even at that age I was furious that this book was in the school library. In the Biography section, of all places! It's a wildly inaccurate romance loosely inspired by history. Very, very, VERY LOOSELY.

To be clear, I'm not objecting to the sex or romance as a genre or sex in romances aimed at young adults. I'm objecting to the premise that Pocahontas and John Smith were ever involved--the historical record clearly shows that they weren't. She was TWELVE YEARS OLD when they met and he was twenty-eight! This is a myth that's damaging to Native Americans and contributes to (white) America's over-inflated ego. That this book was sold as historically accurate (and written by a self-proclaimed descendant) is a travesty.

Save yourself the irritation.

[Daynagirl17 · Rating 3 out of 5]

well well, pocohontas isn't as disney describes her, is she! HAHA! Good to know the real story instead of the hollywood version.

[Jesika Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read this six times as a tween

[Rozus · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a heartbreaking read

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author did her research.

[Jordy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Setting aside any of my opinions on historical accuracy, this just doesn't go far enough with the romance in my opinion. There's little description of intimate scenes, and to avoid describing anything Pocahontas fades in and out of consciousness frequently which is... a choice. Perhaps I don't read this kind of romance novel often enough to understand if that's a trend or a writing style, but I wasn't a fan. I can commend the slow buildup of Pocahontas's and John's relationship, I just wished that was the front seat issue and not the back seat issue. Most of John's perspective is "this and this and this event, politicized thing, also I was thinking about Pocahontas the whole time." I really just wanted to see them go crazy for each other and it just didn't quite get there!
It's also not the fault of the author, but the cover of the book features severaly bylines of "finally, the TRUE story of Pocahontas" when the very first page of the author's note is Donnell saying "there is not historical agreement on if John Smith and Pocahontas had a relationship, but I choose to believe that they did." I think you can still allude to the author's familial descent from Pocahontas and also make it clear that this is a work of fiction.
I guess I'm also just a bit salty at the whole fictional canon surrounding Pocahontas. I started this novel because I had recently watched Disney's Pocahontas and found myself pretty disappointed--Even when historically inaccurate it's also just a poor romance. It's frustrating to know that we don't fully understand the real Pocahontas's perspective on her life, and seeing fictionalized retellings that focus more on her relationships with men than her personal struggles is almost infuriating.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom gave me this book when I was about 14. She saw it at the store, and thought I would enjoy it. If only she had realized that it was a ROMANCE novel! Thankfully it's not really nasty, but from what I remember, there were at least a couple of sex scenes, and that didn't have a good effect on my 14 year old self.

The story was fine, from what I remember (it's been over 20 years since I read it). I did enjoy reading it (except for the shocking sex scenes_If it was actually historically accurate, that would make it better. The best thing about this book is that it helped improve my reading skills. At 14 years old I was a pretty good reader, but this book was tough to digest at first, but by the end it was much easier to comprehend what I was reading. So there is that, at least.

This book is okay for ADULTS who don't mind a little bit of sex in their books, and want to read a FICTIONAL account of Pocahontas and John Smith. I just found my copy in a box in the garage, and I'm contemplating throwing it in the recycling bin.

[Jesse Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pocahontas is a captivating story themed with romance, war, politics and cultural difficulties to overcome and a girl captured between the native world and the new western technologies coming to the America's.

Centered through the eyes of Pochantas, the daughter of the great Powhatan, the leader of the Native Americans and John Smith, an English soldier, explorer and later to be governer. The story portrays a struggle with her clan, the colonists in Jamestown and her converstion to Christianity. A good read for both young and old.

At times, near the end of the book, the writer does seem to rush through certain events compared to beginning of the book where most events are described in detail.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes the kindest thing a person can do is tell someone they cannot write. Ms. Donnell, I'm sorry but you're not a writer. Glaring historical inaccuracies aside, this is just bad writing. The opening chapter is what usually sparks my interest in a novel and this one was just dull as hell. Too much tell, not enough show. Time was compressed and events happened within a page of each other. I skipped to the middle and it was no better there. This book in no way compares to the well-written "Sacajawea" novel by Anna Lee Waldo.

[Jodee Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The sex scenes with multiple partners over and over was just not right on so many levels.
Since there is no written record of these people, how are we to know their true traditions, and practices so what's real or assumed...
I do believe Pocahontas was a key to the establishment of the new world but maybe not entirely as this book portrayed. I feel far more fiction than fact or even historical fiction in this story.

Overall I did enjoy most of the story and I did enjoy seeing how a girl became an influential woman in our early history.

[Lynette Lark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book and it was really good. (The author is a direct descendant of Pocahontas.) Pocahontas (meaning Little Mischief) was a Powhatan princess in the 1600s during the "invasion" of Virginia by the English. She kept the Jamestown settlers from starving to death because apparently, these people didn't know how to fish, hunt or cultivate food. Pocahontas' father, Powhatan, was considered an emperor because he controlled most of Virginia but would not tolerate the white men and he vowed to murder them all (and he should have!) except for Pocahontas' intervention. She was 12 when she aided the settlers. She died in England at age 20. Another thing I should mention: The reason England was so interested in The New World wasn't just for resources. It was to ship the destitute out of England.

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dit is zogenaamd een roman over de echte historische Pocahontas. Maar het is vooral een roman en weinig historisch. Het begint nog redelijk maar naarmate het boek vordert wordt er steeds meer in gezwijmeld en worden de Engelsen steeds positiever voorgesteld. Zelfs Smith die toch bewust liegt tegen haar en dan blijkbaar ook nog probeert haar vader te bestelen. Ik hoop dat de echte Pocahontas verstandiger is geweest.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about Pocahontas's life. I liked this book because I didn't know all the history behind her story. And I found out that I didn't know her story as well as I thought I did.
It's an easy read, meaning it is well written, smooth flowing and you want to know what happens next.

[Jodi Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story, let it be semi accurate or not. It's so much better the the Disney cartoon. It went into more detail on her life, with her father, John Smith and John Rolfe. I'm glad she married and had a child with John Rolfe. I also like how the author went into more detail with Pocahontas stay in England and ending with her son Thomas all grown up.

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the author is a descendant of Pocahontas, this book is fiction although based on facts. The key element in the book is the love story between Pocahontas and John Smith, but as nobody knows if they were even lovers, it is difficult to distinct, what is fact and what is fiction. I would have liked to read a more factual biography, to be honest.

[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

It baffles my mind that Pocahontas by Susan Donnell is marketed as non-fiction. The sheer audacity.

If it had been sold for what it so obviously is -a work of historical fiction- I would have given it 2.5, maybe even 3 stars. But because of the sheer amount of historical inaccuracies in a supposedly non-fiction book, I’m settling for –10 stars. Well deserved.

[Talía]

Me parece que una niña de 12 años es una niña no mantiene una relación con un hombre de 30 , quizás sino hubiera sido por este "detalle" me habría gustado el libro. No se en que estaba pensando la autora.

[Pernille Knudsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong woman with a strong story!

This book is both catchy and inspiring despite for it's quite fatal ending.

It leaves the reader enlightened not only hostorically but spiritually, on nature, compassion, human diversity etc.

I believe that anyone could benefit from reading this true piece of art!