A spirited freethinker amid an oppressive Puritan community, Hope Leslie champions independence for women and justice for Native Americans. Her best friend Magawisca, the daughter of a Pequot chief, defies tribal authority to rescue a white man from death and restore a kidnapped girl to her family. This frontier novel paints an intriguing portrait of life in seventeenth-century New England as it explores the tumultuous relations between Puritans and Pequots.
Author Catharine Sedgwick ranks among the founders of American literature. Her richly plotted books abound in unforgettable characters like Hope Leslie, whose challenges to the social order range from rejecting a unwanted suitor to freeing wrongfully imprisoned Indians. Packed with politics, philosophy, and romance, this novel offers a fascinating depiction of women's efforts to build the new republic and claim their rightful place in history.