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The White

About the Book

The White

In the spring of 1758 Mary Jemison and her family were taken captive by a Shawnee raiding party near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. While the rest of her family was killed by the Shawnee, Mary was chosen for adoption by a Seneca family in exchange for a son of theirs who had been killed by whites. Mary lived among the Indians for the rest of her life, bore children to two husbands, and even when offered the chance to return to white society chose to remain with the Seneca. More than sixty years later, Mary told her story to a white doctor, James Seaver, who first published it in 1824 under the title The Life of Mary Jemison, The White Woman of the Genesee.

In The White, Deborah Larsen uses Mary Jemison's story as the basis for an elegant and riveting novel. She gives Mary a unique voice, a passionate nature and a fine intelligence, creating a memorable character who endures the shattering loss of her entire family, and who meets all of the exigencies of her life with integrity and courage. Bringing to vivid life not only an extraordinary woman but also a whole cultural conflict between natives and white settlers in the early decades of the American nation, The White is a gripping and unforgettable tale.

The White
by Deborah Larsen

  • Publication Date: September 9, 2003
  • Paperback: 219 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage
  • ISBN-10: 0375712895
  • ISBN-13: 9780375712890