Outside of my field but a fascinating account of colonial times at the borders of New England and New France through the prism of women communities of Anglo-Americans, Wabanaki natives, and French Canadians. Esther Wheelwright lived through all three communities and the multiple colonial wars between the British and the French, her history in the context of History (capital H) is fascinating. ( )

I also found this book okay but not terrible. I had some issues with her revisionism and her lack of sympathy for Esther's birth family, Little seemed to overemphasize the role of the Wabanaki in her life, in my opinion, but of course it did lead to her becoming a nun in a roundabout way. The Anglos do not come out well here, of course, although the First Nations and French people are not perfect either. And what is with the "aggressively English" phrase applied to her surname (twice). Hmm...is any English surname by definition "aggressive" if others cannot pronounce it? (Trivia: some captives from N.England by the name of Farnsworth became Phaneuf in Quebec, I found that out years ago and thought it was fascinating, I wonder what other common French Canadian names have Anglo origins).
I did find much of this book interesting if a little longwinded. As a former Quebecker (yes, an Anglo) I was fascinated to learn about the province I left long ago. I even lived in Quebec City for a year so it was a real treat to read about it, as I had no time to experience the city really, with a toddler and a newborn.
I would recommend the book if one is interested in Catholic or Canadian history in the late 18th and early 19th century. It's a bit padded, could have been shorter, but overall worth a read. ( )

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! ( )